30 Kisses
by QianYun
Summary: [SasuNaruSasu, spoilerish, drabble] Naruto doesn’t like lying, but he hates not having Sasuke even more.
1. Fairness

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its affiliated characters, trademarks and products are not in any way claimed by the author of this fanfiction. No profit is being made except in terms of the warm gooey feelings that the author gets writing this.

**_!GLARING NOTE!:_** If you wandered in here because of the summary, you wandered in here for the latest chapter. I would love it if you read all of the stories, but if you only want what was advertised, go to the latest story posted.

**Overall Summary:** SasuNaruSasu There's a first kiss, a second kiss, a third kiss, and an 'I've-lost-count-but-it-doesn't-matter' kiss. And then there's a First Kiss.

**Overall Warning:** Shounen-ai/Yaoi/Slash/Homosexual relationships; light profanity; sexual/mature situations; (guaranteed) slight OOC

**Overall Notes:** Created by a random spark of inspiration late November 26 (in other words, 1 am on 11/27). This is a collection of drabbles/one-shots centering around, you guessed it, kisses. Even if it ends up being pushed to the side, there's guaranteed to be at least one kiss in there. I don't expect anything to come out of this (meaning reviews) but it would be lovely if I know that some of these works inspired warm gooey feelings in you too. But otherwise, have fun.

* * *

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun 

1.

_Summary:_ If the kiss was for the mission, shouldn't the fact that the mission was over mean the kiss should've stopped too? Especially before Sasuke starts thinking too hard.

_Warning:_ Slight spoilers to end of Naruto Part I; hinting at KakaIru; Sasuke's 1st POV

* * *

Fairness

He was rough, I was rough and neither or us could build enough energy to care. It was honestly the stupidest mistake I ever made.

To have waited this long to feel his lips on mine, his hands on my body- his body in my arms. And at the end of the day, if anyone asked, it was to make sure the mission was completed successfully. I never did like doing things half-heartedly.

Neither did Naruto, if those hands that were groping my ass were any indication.

It was odd though, I could vaguely recall Naruto saying the mission was successful before he yanked me to my feet and proceeded to steal my first kiss. I pondered, even while my tongue wrestled with Naruto's to gain dominance, if anybody realized I had never been kissed before. A real kiss; not an accident caused by an inflated ego and an innocent bystander, or a kiss stolen by girls who imagined that it would be enough to make me fall in love.

Except I think I have.

It wasn't fair, really, that I had to get my ass kicked (the same one the idiot was groping now) by Naruto before I could gather enough hate to destroy Orochimaru like he was planning to do to me. It wasn't fair that no matter what I tried, I couldn't beat the dumbass if he used all his strength. It wasn't fair that I still had to use Itachi as a reason not to kill the moron.

It especially wasn't fair that for some odd reason, I tasted miso ramen in Naruto's kiss when he hadn't eaten it for a while.

It wasn't fair that while I was thinking all these stupid, useless thoughts, he was probably just enjoying taking advantage of the situation.

It was fair that-

He released me with a little sigh, looking at me with those stupid blue eyes, "I love you"

-even though it's his first time saying anything _near_ that stage of emotions, I can't help but believe what he's saying because those damn eyes of him won't let me not believe.

What's most unfair is that the mission was to find Kakashi and we found him alright - making out indecently with Iruka-sensei – so Naruto stealing my first kiss _again_ makes absolutely no sense.

"I love you too."

And those words that slipped out of my heart and mouth and into Naruto's ears makes even less sense.

Until his bright smile makes me relax without any more worries.

It just really wasn't fair.

And really had no sense.

But I can live with it.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** I feel kinda gooey again after typing this up. And kinda stupid at the same time. Hum. 

I've also realized that when I thought the phrase '30 Kisses' sounded familiar, like from livejournal, I was right. 30 Kisses is a livejournal community that is actually startlingly alike to what this series is about. Except they actually have themes and I have… spur of the moments junkie stuff. Some of my favorite authors have submitted entries to the community, so check it out either as a reader/reviewer, or budding writer. With that said, I would like to point out that this is in no way affiliated to the community. It is not meant as an insult or otherwise, just… it's not affiliated. And I didn't really know until a few hours ago.

(I'm kind of hating the problems this website has. But meh. Since I haven't been able to log-in all day Monday, the stories aren't being posted up each day. I'm posting this up on my lj anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter much.)

Hope you enjoyed, there's more to come. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a next button already.

Written: 11/27/06 12:45 a.m. – 1:22 a.m.


	2. Fine

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

2.

_Summary:_ NaruSasu "Everything's going to be okay. You know it just like you know he never goes back on his words."

_Warnings:_ More angst than I usually write. Which compared to a lot of people is like… miniscule; Sasuke's 2nd POV

* * *

Fine

"So you promise you'll do it?" He smiles at you brightly, cockily, not expecting one in return, so you don't. Except you kind of want to, but it doesn't matter since he takes your silence as an agreement. And you think that he's lucky you actually will do it or who knows what he would've done if you don't.

And then you draw a blank for a while because even though you recall mentally agreeing to whatever it is he's said, you've forgotten. All just cause even after so long, you're just so grateful that he still talks to you, still smiles at you and never expects anything in return. Because honestly, you're not sure you're ready to give him anything just yet.

With a flash, you remember. He's going out on a mission for a while so he asked you to take care of his plants - that certainly explains the key in your hand – and you're kind of pleased that he trusts you enough to do so and you kind of, sort of start to smile.

Except you realize that he probably asked you since you're not allowed to go out anymore. Out of everyone he knows, you're the only one confined to the village and just totally unable to do anything.

For just a second, you feel like breaking down and crying, right in the middle of the street where anybody and everybody can see and you just don't give a damn anymore. Except you do, so you can't cry even hen you've already lost so much and that irrational hope you had not even a moment before slowly dies.

So you slowly trudge back to the civilian job you've had for the past how many months, depression trying to set in, but you're still unwilling to let go of everything, except you can feel the glares now and it hurts. It hurts more because you're not sure if you can even have hope anymore if…

But a streak of dust steps in front of you and a grinning him smiles brightly, almost apologetically, so much that you're not making much sense anymore, but he has nothing to be sorry for, so why…

Why is he looking at you like that? Like a mischievous brat who's about to sneak a cookie from the proverbial jar and all the thoughts just stop because wow, he just placed his lips over yours and they're soft, but chapped and so like him and you're so dazed hat you don't even notice him pulling away until you can see his smile again and it's just so pure and beautiful.

"Don't forget to drink the medicine Tsunade-baasan gave you. She says it's a better batch and might help your chakra stabilize again – although I don't know how – once your voice comes back as well. She even said you might be all better by the time I come back, so take care of yourself so I can beat you up when I get back."

A flash of teeth and he's gone again and you're baffled, so very baffled, except there's a note in your hand now – how did it get there? – and you read it and…

Everything's going to be okay. You just know it like you know he never goes back on his words and you'll believe him, you won't need proof because the kiss said it all. So you walk to the job where you've been the past how many months, you drop the note into the trash can and you greet you boss with a small smile and you're astonished by the grin he beams back at you and yeah, everything will be fine.

_I'll come back to you, even as a ghost. So don't think you've gotten rid of me just yet. Don't overwork yourself and don't chew your lip so much. It's distracting._

_Naruto_

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** This one is odd. Especially since it's in 2nd right after the 1st POV. And has so many background info that can be written.

Written: 11/27/06 1:23 a.m. – 2:39 a.m.


	3. Trap

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

3.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu) 'They' were frustrated with Sasuke and Naruto denying their feelings for each other. So 'they' decided to do something about it. But 'they' really didn't have to.

_Warnings:_ Stronger sexual situations; Hints of NejiLee

* * *

Trap

He was quite sure it had nothing to do with him personally, so he went about his business, never suspecting a thing. But a certain blonde's smile tipped him off and now he not only knew something was wrong, he also knew there was a Plan and it involved him somehow. He scowled. He had not agreed to return to put up with crap like that.

As quickly as he could, he left the area, speeding towards the one spot he could be at peace, never knowing he fell perfectly into a Trap.

* * *

-Elsewhere-

"Is it all ready?"

"Yes."

"Since you're helping, I would've thought that you would sound a bit more enthusiastic."

"I didn't volunteer for this."

"So you're helping because…?"

There was a sideways glance towards an ecstatic green jumping thing. The blonde snickered in amusement, "you know, Neji, you should really-"

"Shut up. I'm not going to take advice from you of all people."

Smugly, "That's what you say now, but when this plan gets off without a hitch and Sasuke is crossed off the bachelor's list… Well, you know where to find me. I mean, after all-"

"He's coming, be quiet."

Startled from being cut off _again_, the blonde muttered, "Of all the asses I was assigned to be with, it's the one in denial."

Thankfully, Neji didn't hear the uttered comment (or at least he pretended not to) as he was busy signaling Lee to settle down. Concentrating, they erased their presence before Sasuke could detect them.

He finally entered their normal field of vision and they all breathed a silent sigh of relief as Sasuke did nothing more than glance around suspiciously. So relieved in the success of the second part of The Plan, part A, they never noticed the smirk on his face.

What a shame.

It was also quite unfortunate that although they (seriously, who's they?) found Sasuke's hiding place, they had automatically assumed that he trained there. It was true, but…

The blonde could barely conceal the gasp that escaped as Sasuke walked to the other end of the clearing and straight up one of the trees to one of its tallest branches before settling down to sleep. A smirk bloomed across the blonde's face; he was making it way to easy. Nudging Neji to send a signal to Lee, the blonde crept closer to the tree, edging around the clearing. Once Lee was in position, the blonde indicated to slip on the masks around their neck before reaching into a pocket and flinging out a handful of powder. A blur ran past her and up the tree behind Sasuke before disappearing into the forest.

As it was planned, although slightly altered, the powder was carried by the wind Lee created and shot towards Sasuke. A moment later, he slipped off the branch to be saved by Neji, who was waiting for that precise reason.

With Sasuke in their grasp, Ino finally relaxed and smiled triumphantly.

* * *

"You got him?" 

"Yeah."

"Uh… why does he have a lump on his head?"

"He resisted."

"Why would that matter? You were supposed to slip this into his drink."

"We did."

"And?"

"He resisted."

"For the love of...! Oh whatever, just put him on the bed."

"Aren't we supposed to…" a hand gesture.

"Oh, right. We should hurry up; I don't know how long the powder will work on him.

"Hm."

* * *

When Naruto finally returned to the conscious world, he tried very hard not to wince. Because there was another body on the bed and more people attempting to hide by the window and bump on his head and oh yeah… 

He was naked.

And if he moved just a little bit _that_ way, he was pretty sure the other person was as well. Discretely, he took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh when he realized who the other one was. It was enough to let the other person know he was awake. Pretending to shift in his sleep, Naruto turned away from the window and muttered quietly, "What happened?"

"Knowing Ino, they're trying to make us confess our feelings."

"Er… what feelings?"

"The ones we already confessed."

"Oh. So what are we going to do?

"It depends. What do you want to do? We can 'wake up', scream in horror, argue and run away. Or…"

"Please tell me that 'or' leads to making out."

"Of course it does, but there are several ways of doing it…"

* * *

-Outside-

Somehow, some way, the entire group that was involved with The Plan stuck themselves along the edge of the roof across from Naruto's apartment. It wasn't a small roof, but the window was, and they couldn't all see it at once. Several of them were left at the end of the line, but they didn't really care about the outcome except for the part where Ino and Sakura would finally stop bothering them.

But when Ino let out a stifled shriek and Sakura followed soon after with an "Oh my god", their curiosity was peaked and they towered over the girls to see what was so interesting.

And it was interesting.

Sasuke had pinned Naruto onto the bed and looked like he was trying to devour the blonde. Although if the hands that were scratching down Sasuke's back was any indication, there was none of the pain usually involved with the word "devour". Even from across the building, they could hear the moan Naruto let out when Sasuke raised his head to kiss down the blonde's face.

And down his chest and under the covers.

The keening whine that rose from Naruto was enough to make the girls' wide-eyes dreamy and the boys turn pink. Neji cleared his throat and made some sort of excuse that he was sure wasn't even coherent before quickly leaving the vicinity.

Lee followed him with a grin on his face and an image of youthful energy being spent in a most pleasurable way on his mind.

* * *

Sasuke nibbled on Naruto's thighs, letting the tanned flesh turn red under his ministrations. He moved down to massage the blonde's feet before coming out from under the covers to smother Naruto with kisses again. It was heaven, or at least close enough to it, when Sasuke kissed Naruto tantalizingly. He lightly bit the blonde's lower lip, delighting in the moan that erupted as he swept his tongue over his lips. Teasingly, he brought his hands down Naruto's side, making him gasp and open his mouth. 

He plunged inside the open mouth and caressed Naruto's tongue with his own before violently attacking it. Not one to take abuse, the blonde attacked back and Sasuke was forced to let Naruto into his mouth. He sighed contently before suddenly getting flipped over.

Naruto grinned lecherously before starting a trail a kisses down Sasuke's neck. He sucked at his right collar bone for a while, waiting… waiting… and right on cue, he felt Sasuke melt under him.

For the first time that day, Sasuke let out a groan of pleasure and grabbed Naruto's face to bring him back to his mouth. The blonde plunged his tongue back into Sasuke's and slipped his hand down his body and onto his-

* * *

"What do you guys think you're doing?" 

The remaining observers were so caught up in the erotic scene before them that it took them a moment to realize who was addressing them.

Ino's eyes widened and she started to stutter, "But, wha- aren't you- oh my god!" She turned her head back and forth between the window and the intruders before flaring up in anger. "Damnit!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow calmly. "Honestly, have you forgotten who we are? We're not going to be knocked out by the powder and drugs you harvested from your own garden. We would especially not be stupid enough to make out in front of an open window. And certainly, we're not amateur enough not to detect your presence."

"You knew?!?" Ino practically shrieked, her hard work going down the drain right before her eyes.

"From the very beginning, although I'm not sure Naruto was quite that quick." The brunette smirked.

"Hey! There's no need to insult me!" Naruto finally spoke up, scowl appearing on his face.

"Tch. You guys are ridiculous. Go find someone else's love life to mess with. We're fine as we are."

Sakura was about to protest that they were far from being fine, but she was interrupted by the sight of Sasuke placing his hand on Naruto's face to bring it up to ravish his mouth. The blonde's face flushed, but he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist to bring him closer. And before they could recover from their shock, the two men disappeared from their view.

"I think… I need a cold shower."

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** It's just like me to write longer amusing fanfics than ones that actually has some deep thinking. XD

The NejiLee thing was spur of the moment, and I apologize if the mention creeped out any of you. But most likely (if the thing about KakaIru in the first one is any indication) there will be a mention of some other slash couple once in a while. Not more than a mention usually, but, just so you know. And considering the stories won't have anything to do with each other, you'll see multiple pairings of several characters.

Because interestingly, that "image of youthful energy" Lee had was inspired by a GaaraLee drabble written by Steve-no-Berry, whose writing is quite inspiring and nice and just… fuzzy. And no, I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

And to answer my own question 'they' involved the following: Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and Lee. Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino worked together to drug Naruto and Sakura knocked him out when he "resisted". But Ino was talking to Shino. And yes, they were, in one way or another, coerced to do this by Ino and Sakura. That's all I'm saying.

I hope you all enjoyed.

Written: 11/27/06 2:40 a.m. – 3:01 a.m.; 9:48 p.m. – 11:46 p.m. (I was watching _Studio 60_. It's awesome. Just like _Heroes_.)


	4. Supposedly

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu) Sasuke gave away his first and second kisses to cheer up Naruto. It was only right that he took Naruto's fourth and fifth kiss to cheer himself up.

_Warnings:_ Little boys kissing other little boys; random fluff

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

4.

* * *

Supposedly

He was pretty sure that his first kiss was supposed to be with a girl. At least, that's what his mother said and his mother never lied to him. In fact, he was incredibly sure that all his kisses were supposed to be with girls (preferably one, said his mother) and he _knows_ she's not lying because all the other kids were told that kisses were objects. One boy was told that a kiss was a thimble, but Sasuke already knew what a thimble was- his mother made sure he knew what everything was so he could fetch it for her.

So yes, he was sure that his first kiss was supposed to be with a girl.

But the other boy looked so sad and Sasuke had nothing else to give him. He always saw his mom give his father a light kiss when he was upset, so it really shouldn't be a problem for Sasuke to kiss the blonde because he was sad and needed cheering up.

And when Sasuke kissed the boy (he was aiming for his right cheek, but the boy turned his head and he got his lips instead) he looked a little scared, but he smiled a bit.

Sasuke couldn't find anything wrong with what he did and the boy looked so much happier and brighter when he smiled, so he decided then and there that kisses were good things and whenever anyone was sad, he would kiss them to make them feel better. And just because seeing the other boy so happy made him happier too, he decided to kiss him again and there went his second kiss.

"You look better when you smile. Don't be so sad anymore, okay?" He didn't wait for a response, just skipped away cheerfully, never really knowing the impact the kisses had on the other boy.

So fifteen years later, when they meet up again at the same spot where Sasuke's first and second kisses were given, he takes the blonde's fourth and fifth because they already had an accident for a third kiss and Naruto never forgot the boy who cheered him up with kisses.

It was only right that after the war finally ended and Sasuke finally returned to that very spot with silent tears running down his face, Naruto let his fourth and fifth kiss get taken.

He owed him that much at least.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY- **Short and simple. Just like this after-note.

Written: 11/28/06 12:56 a.m. to 1:26 a.m.


	5. Outsiders

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

5.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru, GaaraLee) If even Gaara feels that Naruto and Sasuke need to get over themselves and get together, shouldn't that show something?

_Warnings:_ GaaraLee that smacks you in the face from the very beginning; the focus is not on Sasuke and Naruto, so skip it if you want to

* * *

Outsiders

Gaara wasn't pleased with the proceedings and Lee had run out of ideas on how to restrain his slightly crazed boyfriend. He was usually the only one who could, but Gaara's temper today was too much even for him. He really wished Sasuke and Naruto would stop dancing around each other before Gaara did something like-

It was too late. They were all doomed. Lee resisted the oncoming wave of depression and smiled, teeth glinting brightly.

"Such a good idea, my love! Trapping them within a sand box with no means of escape until they confess to each other only shows the brilliance of your youth!" Lee praised Gaara lightly, never revealing his doomsday thoughts to the other man.

"They just better get their act together before mother grows impatient and forces them together." A slightly feral smirk rose on Gaara's face and Lee grew worried.

"Ah, Gaara? What exactly did you mean by that?" But there was no response as the red-haired man started to walk away. "Gaara? Gaara? Please don't tell me you did something irreversible. Gaara? Wait for me!"

But Lee never found out what Gaara meant except that Sasuke and Naruto were forced to have their first real kiss before succumbing to the sexual tension.

**To be Continued…**

* * *

**QY-** This doesn't mean there will a sequel, it means I'm coming back to this story and adding to it. I had planned on doing it yesterday, but unfortunately, since the semester's end is approaching, my professors decided it would be nice to add on tons of work in addition to needing to register for next semester's classes. Since I'm not sure how many people would appreciate the GaaLee in the first place, I will put up a note later when I finish editing this so whoever wants to read it can.

Damn, the note is almost as long as the story. Since I'm posting this late, I'll put up the next one earlier. As in… there should be a next button already.

Written: 11/28/06 1:30 a.m. to 1:42 a.m.


	6. Jealousy

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

6.

_Summary:_ (NaruSasu) Sasuke doesn't handle jealousy so well. So it's no surprise that although he started at the top, Naruto came out as the winner.

_Warnings:_ AU; school-cliché; heavier profanity

* * *

Jealousy

In the cliché to end all clichés, Naruto found himself slammed into the lockers at the end of the day; a furious Sasuke snarling at him.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"I'm the one who should be asking that question, Uzumaki. What the hell did you think you were doing out in the courts today?" Sasuke demanded, rage nearly taking over his rationale.

"Playing. What else do you do on the courts?" Naruto refused to back down; there had been nothing wrong with what he was doing, there was no reason why Sasuke would be slamming him into the lockers. They had won with a 21-point lead!

"Playing?!?" Sasuke scoffed, "Did you think I wouldn't see the way you were making eyes at Sakura? You were lucky that Neji was there to back you up, or we would have lost."

Naruto's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to shoot off a retort, but he saw the way Sasuke's eyes were flashing red, and the way he was grinding his teeth and that despite the fact that he had gotten slammed into the lockers, he wasn't actually in pain. A feral grin grew on Naruto's lips and pressing up against Sasuke, he said huskily, "Are you jealous, Sasuke? Because you know," he walked further into Sasuke's personal space, causing him to back up until Sasuke was against the lockers on the other side of the hallway, "I'll be willing to make eyes at you any. Time. Of. The. Day."

The blonde punctuated every word with a kiss on a part of Sasuke's face before ending with one pressed against the brunette's lips. He let his tongue out to lazily lap at Sasuke's lower lip, delighted when his mouth fell open and he was allowed entrance into the hot cavern. Never one to have idle hands, Naruto brought them up to sink them into Sasuke's soft dark locks. His hands almost tingled at the silkiness.

Breathing a sigh of contentment, Naruto backed off and looked into Sasuke's eyes. "Next time, you can just kiss me. There's no need to slam me against the lockers." He grinned and walked away, down the hallway and outside the school, leaving Sasuke to watch him in a daze.

He groaned and hit his head on the lockers. That was not what was supposed to happen.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY- **Yes… it is around here that inspiration died. But I will keep on! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and all those anonymous people who are reading these stories and the people who added me to their favorites and alerts. Hope you had fun reading! 

Written: 11/28/06 1:24 p.m. to 1:49 p.m. (The only one I've written during the day so far...)


	7. Privacy

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

7.

_Summary:_ NaruSasu You must always be careful where you decide to have a secret meeting. You never know who's around.

_Warnings:_ Little mention of SasuNaru again; ShikaChou if you tilt your head thataway and think

* * *

Privacy

It was really, really bright. The kind of bright that would make a person want to curse at the sun and whine to the clouds. But the only thing Shikamaru had enough energy to do was wish for clouds to form and decorate the clear blue skies. With the too bright sun. Then when Chouji stood over Shikamaru to offer a smile, he smiled too- just because Chouji was as good as any cloud when he stood like that. But all good things eventually come to an end and Chouji moved away to settle down next to Shikamaru. So it can't be said that one good thing never follows another.

Minutes and hours passed as the two friends lazed around on the roof they designated as their own, staring up at the sky and sharing the chips Chouji brought with him. For a while, Shikamaru was sure that nothing would happen that day (just like this story) but his hopes were dashed when he caught sounds of bickering coming from the isolated street behind the building. His eyes drifted toward that direction as he wondered if he was curious enough to observe. Luckily for him, Chouji was bored enough that he stood and walked over to the side.

"Hm. It's Sasuke and Naruto again," Chouji said contemplatively.

Shikamaru sighed a little in exasperation. "Are they going at it again? It's the fifth time this month. And it's only the tenth."

"Wait…" Chouji paused as he continued to watch. Before he could say anymore, Shikamaru received his answer when the arguing stopped and he head a moan. "Yup, they're at it again," amused at the turn of events, Chouji meandered back to his spot, "do you think we should tell them that spot's not very private?"

"It depends. What are they doing now?"

Chouji shrugged, "It looked like they were starting to strip each other before I came back."

Shikamaru yawned, "They shouldn't be going so far with each other in public anyway. They can deal with the consequences when they come. Maybe then Sasuke and Naruto will learn their lesson."

Chouji made a murmur of agreement, on the verge of drifting asleep himself. "When do you think they'll tell everyone?"

The genius chuckled, "Chouji, I can guarantee you that _they_ won't be doing the talking." He shifted over until his head rested on Chouji's stomach. "Tomorrow's going to be an eventful day, we should rest."

And so that was how the two boys spent the rest of the day, blissfully sleeping under the bright, cloudless day with Naruto and Sasuke's activities filling the background noise.

The next day, over half the female population and a handful of males sported merchandise proudly displaying Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke's "secret" make-out session.

They really should've checked whose apartment window looked out to that alley before they decided to rendezvous there.

Or at least just where the members of _The Official Boy's Love Club: Konoha Chapter_ lived.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** This is late because I went shopping yesterday and came home with a headache, then proceeded to finish a report before 9 pm, but ended killing myself. Yes. Sorry. Thank you for the reviews!

Written: I'm so out of it, that I don't remember.


	8. Rumors

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

8.

_Summary:_ (NaruSasu) Rumors are the lifeline of every village. So it's no wonder that most of them are about Sasuke and Naruto in Konohagakure.

_Warnings:_ Run-on sentences; implied KakaIru; implied Kiba/Hinata; implied? Shikamaru/Temari

* * *

Rumors

_Rumor had it that The Uchiha Sasuke was gay._

It had come as quite a surprise to most of the population, but a few had nodded knowingly when Sasuke burst from his fangirls' harassment, stating loudly and clearly that that there was no chance he would ever marry one of them when he never found any girls attractive. And if the look on his face was any indication, Sasuke found it quite surprising himself and had turned a startling red before bolting from the scene. He didn't appear in public for another two days before he was found hiding out in the forest, trying to train away his epiphany. But he was at the point of no return and Sasuke was forced to live with the realization that he would rather stare at Naruto after a good workout than a skimpily-dressed Sakura.

_Rumor had it that Uzumaki Naruto was gay too._

By the time Naruto decided to shout his orientation to the rest of the world, everyone was so jaded by Sasuke's revelation that no one cracked a joke about it. In fact, it could even be said that Naruto had the better end of the deal when all his friends expressed their support with words that they had stumbled through with Sasuke.

_Rumor had it that they had a fight about it._

Needless to say, the fact that Sasuke and Naruto's orientation was announced near the same time caused quite a bit of disturbance on their already delicate relationship. Sasuke was bitter over the fact that he hadn't even realized he was gay until he had already told the entire world and Naruto was bitter over the fact that Sasuke once again beat him in something. A ridiculous competition that had no basis was started, but ended before anything could come from it as…

_Rumor had it that Haruno Sakura was steadfastly supporting her two teammates._

Sakura was severely disappointed that the man she had been chasing since her teenage years would never return her feelings. There was a possibility, no matter how slim, that Sasuke would begin to like her back when he was straight, but that possibility was completely crushed once it was found that Sasuke was gay. When Naruto announced _his_ change of heart after pursuing her since his teenage years, her self-confidence took a nosedive into the ground. After all, who would be able to stand knowing that the two men she had been emotionally tied to since forever turned out to be gay?

But once she thought about it, they _were_ the two men who she had been emotionally tied to since forever and it was for that very reason that she picked herself back up and firmly said that she would support their feelings no matter what the outcome may be. She had, scarily, announced to the village that if she discovered anybody disturbing _her_ Sasuke and Naruto in any way about their orientation, she would not be responsible for her resulting actions.

Even if anybody were thinking about it, their musings were dispelled when Sakura displayed the fearful strength she gained from Tsunade's training.

_Rumor had it that Inuzuka Kiba was ecstatic._

Sakura was not the only one personally affected by the two men's coming-out. Kiba was one of the very few who were ecstatic that such an event happened because surely Hinata would be forced to turn her affections onto someone else, and who better than Kiba? He was ultimately incredibly similar to Naruto in personality and he had been by Hinata's side since their Team 9 years. The slight discomfort Kiba had at hearing both male members of Team 7 turn gay was dispelled when he thought about all the good it did.

_Rumor had it that Hyuuga Hinata was crushed._

Hinata did her best to hide her hurt feelings. Although her feelings towards Naruto had gradually shifted over to admiration of his spirit and strength, she had spent the majority of her youth looking up to him and wishing she could be with him. Hinata supported Naruto with all her heart and wished that he would someday find the man of his dreams… but for now, she was going to milk Kiba's sympathy for all it was worth. And then, most likely, she'll tell Kiba that she knew for a while he liked her and that really, she kind of did too.

_Rumor had it that Hatake Kakashi knew it all along._

Kakashi prided himself on being able to look underneath the underneath and he boasted to anybody who would listen that he knew all along his two charges were gay. And under his breath, if anybody bothered to listen (by this part of the speech, most people tuned him out), he claimed that Naruto and Sasuke would be confessing their love before they knew it. Knowing that the two of them would finally be happy after so long made him smile in secret, but he kind of wished that he could have that happiness too…

_Rumor had it that Tsunade was having a betting pool about them._

The betting pool had actually started back when Sasuke had first left the village. Surprisingly, even after the two proclamations, the odds of the vote remained rather firm.

_Rumor had it that the odds were high the two were going to jump each other._

From one end of the village to another, the idea of the two men going at each other was one they had secretly entertained for a while. Tsunade brought those ideas to the betting table and with all the entrance fees she posted, even if the side she bet on lost, she would've ultimately won.

But she had little doubt that the two men would fall in love.

_Rumor had it that Umino Iruka was forced to give both of them "The Talk"._

In order to push Sasuke and Naruto a little into the direction she wanted, Tsunade ordered Iruka to give them "The Talk". But "The Talk" in the hidden villages was vastly different from "The Talk" in a normal village. It included the ins and outs of sex (no pun intended), but also included the ways sex could be used to manipulate people. By the time Naruto and Sasuke were thoroughly scarred at the thought of having sex with disgusting old men for missions (which the first Hokage had specifically stated would only be done with consent from the shinobi), Iruka had moved on to the portion of "The Talk" that involved never letting their enemies knowing their weak spot.

And so they were thoroughly scarred with the thought of their future significant other being tortured to get to them.

It took a while for Iruka to get through "The Talk" and he was exhausted with the implications he had brought up about enemies knowing about their preferences and using it against them. He hadn't had a real relationship for years in fear of attaching himself to someone who may never return. There was little danger in anyone sticking with him- after all, he was just a Chuunin teacher who had little chance of ever leaving the village without a specific order from Tsunade to do so. He had hoped, actually, to attach himself to one of the other teachers in the Academy, but as luck would have it, he found himself becoming just a little bit attached to the worst person of all.

_Rumor had it that Kakashi heard about it and…_

Kakashi had heard the rumor that Iruka was being forced to give "The Talk" and knew enough about the teacher that he realized his emotional state would be just a tad bit fragile. Or at least a little more than usual.

So he set out to take it to his advantage because Iruka was a strong man who could take care of himself and he would never have to worry about. But more than that, they had shared a portion their life with the same people and really, it was enough for him. And Kakashi was just a bit enamored with the _idea_ of Iruka; a person who would never be cowed by his reputation but completely prone to blushing at the littlest things ever.

Iruka found himself pressed against the door of his apartment minutes after the meeting with Naruto and Sasuke, staring up at a pair of mismatched eyes and a delicate nose and strong chin before widening his eyes and finding himself unable to speak because Kakashi had pressed his lips against his and pushed his leg between his _just so_ and my god, maybe attaching himself to the man in front of him wouldn't be so bad if they did this every time they saw each other.

_Rumor had it that Sasuke and Naruto kissed again._

No one personally witnessed the event, but Sakura, despite her adamant attempts to protect her two men, was completely unable to keep the fact to herself and if the squealing was any indication, Sakura was thrilled with the idea of her men getting together. But…

_Rumor had it that there was a plan drifting around._

Sasuke and Naruto were stubborn asses that refused to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Sakura was determined to see the two of them happy and recruited Hinata in her plan to allow them to do just that.

_Rumor had it that it was shot down before it was carried out._

Surprise of all surprises, Ino claimed that Sakura's scheming would only hurt the chances of Sasuke and Naruto getting together. The pink-haired girl was tempted to carry out the plan anyway, but a quiet Hinata persuaded her not to. Ino was very glad because she had secretly tried out a plan that was _incredibly_ similar to Sakura's on Shikamaru and Chouji and it had failed **horribly**. As in she was completely embarrassed to find out later that Shikamaru was dating Temari.

_Rumor had it that they confessed to each other._

And then it turned out that Sakura didn't need to worry because even though Naruto was astonishingly stupid sometimes, he never let anything get in the way of him succeeding in life. And getting Sasuke was just one of the things along the road in life that would make it just so much sweeter.

_Rumor had it that Naruto was a gentleman who really shouldn't have turned gay._

In a complete turnabout, rumors of Naruto's first date with Sasuke caused many a girl to sigh dreamily and wish she had a boyfriend like that. Naruto had outdone himself by treating Sasuke to all the things he had missed out on as a teenager growing up. Kisses, flowers and candy were all given in moderation to appease Sasuke's manliness (cough) and sweep him off his feet. Naruto had walked him to his doors and kissed him sweetly on the lips before bidding him good night, only to return half an hour later to serenade him under the moonlight. (But really, he had brought along a portable radio and requested a song, but it's the thought that counts)

Sasuke was kind of not amused throughout the date, but he was forced to admit that he wouldn't have it any other way.

_Facts say that the village is glad their heroes are finally happy._

Sasuke had left their village once and Naruto had gotten him back in a series of events that no one knew the entire story to, but it was undeniable that Sasuke was one of their heroes. He had not saved the entire village from an evil adversary (in fact, he _brought_ one to their village), he did not sacrifice himself for the good of the village, nor had he contributed to it in any major way that no other shinobi had done- except he did. The village's view of good and evil got skewed just a bit to fit reality and even if everything will change back in a few more years, they saw Naruto as the true hero as he was and the rescued victim that Sasuke ended up being. Their relationship taught the village about the shades of grey their shinobi had and it was all they needed to name the two shinobi as their heroes. In the same way that their perspective was altered, the village saw Sasuke and Naruto's relationship as the way for the two men's lives to be altered: for the better.

_Rumor had it that the village is glad the sexual tension is finally solved._

Really, everyone was just glad that the sexual tension between Sasuke and Naruto was finally getting solved- even if some of them _really_ didn't want to know how they did it. Their fights stopped sporadically popping up in the middle of the streets and the village saved lots of money in terms of repairing their shops as a result of their fights. Because even if it was their fault, there was always some such reason that the two of them couldn't pay. The shinobi was glad that they didn't have to deal with their fights in the mission room and on the missions and the civilians… Well, let's just say that whenever Sasuke and Naruto wandered out anymore, their hands were never free to fight.

_Rumor had it that Sasuke and Naruto continued to have competitions over their superiority over each other… but it moved from the field… to the bed._

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** The grammar in this story is so dead that I don't even want to go back to look at it today. This story is messed up in terms of its writing, but I'm rather proud of the idea. By the way, I obsessively checked the story stats after I uploaded the chapter and I'm rather surprised by the speed at which some people click on this story. I probably disappointed over half of them last chapter, but hey, I liked it. Heh XD

Thanks for reading! And a great big hug to those of you who put me on alerts-faves and/or reviewed!

P.S. This is not an attempt to get more reviews but... anybody have any ideas they want me to write about? I do believe my inspiration is running dry at the thought of all the finals that are coming up. But I will continue to do my best!

Written: 12/03/06 7:32 p.m. to 9:09 p.m.


	9. Quirks

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

9.

_Summary:_ (NaruSasu) They say best friends make the best lovers, but you have to be willing to take that step across the boundary first.

_Warnings:_ AU- parallel to canon; Naruto 1st POV; implied KakaIru; refusal to use Sasuke's name through most of the story…; mostly narrative

* * *

Quirks

It's easy falling in love with your best friend. When you've been together for years and you learn everything about them, you start to wonder, what if? What if this road you've started on went a different way? Would you still know each other as well, or would you know each other better? Would you still think his quirks were funny, or would you wonder how anybody could stand them?

Would you still think that everything he does, he does for a reason that only you know about because you were there when he tried to end it all?

Would you still want to fall in love with your best friend… when they weren't your best friend? Would it be the right step to take, the right option to consider?

But it doesn't matter because I already took that step.

-zomg-

I opened my eyes slowly, afraid of what I would see before me. I had called him out today to ask him a question. The question that had been on my mind since I found out that he had rejected another girl. But I had ended up doing the one thing I told myself not to do- I had kissed him without warning and without caution.

It was not a passionate kiss; I had barely pressed my lips against his before I backed away.

I watched as he blinked his dark eyes and almost winced when he opened his mouth, but all he said was: "Maybe you should think about why you're kissing me before you think about what I'm going to do when you do it."

Then he turned and walked away, just like that. I stared after him, wide-eyed and confused. I was alone on my lawn, just like I had been the first time I called him my best friend.

He had, actually, said the same words to me back then, only slightly different as it fitted the situation. I blew a frustrated breath up towards my hair, if that was what he was going to say every time our relationship changed…

I paused in thought, it was true, the results of my examination would indefinitely change the state of our relationship, was I willing to risk it all for something more that just might be the exact same thing?

I sighed, I hated it when he did this to me, but I was glad all the same. He was the only one who made me stop to think before I rushed head first into a situation. Despite all the wondering I had done about this, I never really thought about it. And it seemed that now I was forced to.

-zomg-

I met him when I was 7 years old. He moved into the city from the suburbs after the death of his parents and his subsequent adoption. I was adopted as well and my guardian, Iruka, knew his guardian, Kakashi, by reputation. They were both teachers, but in different grades, different schools. We were both zoned to the school Iruka was teaching at and it came as no surprise when I was transferred into his class months after he adopted me. None of the other teachers could handle me and the school administration hoped that being under Iruka's care would give him more authority over me. Sadly, they were correct. I was grateful to Iruka for even taking care of me when I was a foster child, and when he decided to adopt me, I had promised to myself that I would never disappoint him.

So I had to cut my pranking in half. It was such a pity.

When he moved, he was directly transferred into Iruka's class, but I never noticed him. He was the quiet dark kid that sat in the corner by himself, rejecting any hand of friendship extended towards him. I was content to let him be, I was busy enough with my own attempts at friendship.

I was never a popular kid, but I had a handful of friends and they became even more important to me as I got shunned by more and more people in favor for the dark kid who never spoke. I would have resented him for it and by all appearances I did, but I had seen his eyes and I knew that he saw more than he should have, just as I did. So I never stuck my nose into his business and he never noticed me.

It changed when we graduated and moved onto the school his guardian taught at. Iruka finally officially met Kakashi when he went to a Parent-Teacher conference night and I was finally forced to acknowledge his existence, just as he did mine.

I began to truly hate him when Iruka found himself drawn into Kakashi's more and more by the day. It wasn't his fault, I knew that, but he did nothing to keep them apart and the childish part of me still wanted to keep Iruka all to myself. We had lived with only each other with years and we were happy, but Iruka was someone who attracted people through his quiet, yet brash personality. He wouldn't have stayed happy alone for long.

I did all I could to get him to hate me, but he refused to budge from his stoic attitude. Nothing I did seem to affect him; everyone praised him for acting so rationally in the face of that awful kid.

But Iruka came home every other day telling me what Kakashi told him. He was acting out of the ordinary at home, sometimes throwing tantrums (because they could be nothing else) and other times strangely smiling throughout the night. It would've creeped me out, if I didn't start noticing a pattern.

That was when I approached him the first time, telling him that under no circumstances was he to be known as anything other than my best friend from then on.

He had said those words to me then, with a weird stare and a smile twitching at his lips.

But unlike this time, it didn't take me long to come up with an answer.

He was my best friend because we got along without ever getting along. We were friends without words; we understood each other without ever knowing each other because despite what it seemed like, I knew that he knew we were alike. He was unwilling to acknowledge our connection just like I was unwilling to do anything about it.

I never really gave him an answer. I just started walking with him and sitting next to him in that classes we had together. He glared at me in the beginning, but by the time the week was over, we had developed a routine and lo and behold, the public found out that he knew how to laugh.

It was a grand accomplishment and I started wondering if he was human enough to do other things.

He was.

I never asked him about his past, just as he never asked about mine and the knowledge was never needed. We spent most of our time in each other's company watching movies, playing sports, going to the arcade. We did anything and everything we could think of one at a time and by the time we got to this point, every place in the vicinity was stamped with our memories.

He never went out with girls. Day after day, there was a new girl going up to him and confessing her feelings. Day after day, he rejected them and left them in tears. I knew, unlike many others, that he didn't reject them out of malice, didn't purposely leave the girls in tears, but he knew no other way and all the time I spent with him did little to cure him of his callous words.

But I loved him for it. Not the fact that he left the girls in tears, but the fact that he tried his best not raise anyone's hopes and bring them down. He did his best to show everyone that he didn't care and if you tried to make it seem as if he did, he wouldn't back down from telling you the truth. He only accepted my friendship because I never outright stated to the world that I was his friend. It simply became a fact of life; the most popular guy was close friends with someone few people acknowledged.

He was my best friend and I didn't want to lose that title in his life. Although, it was highly doubtful that anyone would be able to take that title in his life, I didn't want to be without it.

Was it worth it? That kiss that I gave and took without thinking of the consequences?

But what were the consequences?

I knew him enough to realize that even if he doesn't accept the new direction my feelings seem to have taken, he will never reject me for it.

So what would change?

Why did I kiss him?

I stared up at the night sky, still thinking deeply, still standing on the spot he left me in. Did I really love him, or was it just an idea that I entertained for a moment that dragged on for too long?

"Naruto! When are you planning to come in?"

I turned to see Iruka lean out of the house, a worried look on his face. I opened my mouth to yell a reply, but a flicker of movement caught my eye and I turned back. He was walking back towards me, hands in his pockets, smile on his lips. Distantly, I heard the door close.

I focused on him, focused on the idea of him, focused on our past.

"Sasuke!"

I waited for him to step in front of me before I continued.

"I don't have a reason to why I kissed you. And I don't need one. I did it because I felt like it. Because it was the right thing to do. I followed my instinct and I know that no matter what, you'll be the most important person in my life. So I refuse to give you an answer because you shouldn't need one to give me a response. It's either you do or-"

I was cut off abruptly by his lips and I smugly smiled inwardly. His lips were warm against mine and as his arms pulled me in for an embrace, I knew my answer was right.

Sasuke never expected an answer.

He just accepted.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** On my list of ideas I wrote "AU bestfriends" and this is what I came up with. I was hoping for something a little more humorous. Darn. This was so pointless.

Written: 12/03/06 10:05 p.m. to 11:21 p.m.


	10. Unexpectedly

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

10.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru) Most people go through their lives waiting for that one special someone. But when you find them and realize they are not who you hoped they would be, what would you do? Reject or accept? (pt 1 of 2)

_Warnings:_ AU- allusions to canon (particularly Naruto's violent feelings towards Sasuke); switches between Naruto's 2nd and 3rd POV; slow shifting of genre

* * *

Unexpectedly

_You spent most of your life in the dark. You shone in your own special way and brought the brightest of joys to the people who took their time to get to know you, but a part of you always remained in the dark._

_Always._

_You had wished, had hoped with all your heart that maybe some day, one day, you'll find a person who will see through the darkness you've lived in and reach in and take you away._

_Now you've found that person._

_But you're wishing you never did._

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Naruto stumbled from the force of the stranger's push and looked up to glare at the offender only to find himself face to face with one of the prettiest guys he ever met. He blinked in surprise and backed away from the other man. A sneer was growing on his face and Naruto scowled in response.

"You should look in front of yourself a little more instead of daydreaming, ass." Naruto bit off the sharp remark, already turning to walk away. But he was stopped by a tight grip on his wrist and trying to jerk his hand back only caused his wrist to protest in pain.

_You want to escape because you saw something in the stranger's face that you never saw before._

"I think you should be apologizing to me before you start running your mouth, you brat," the man smirked with superiority and it ticked Naruto off a little more than it probably should have.

"I have nothing to apologize for, you-" he was cut off by the stranger's gesture towards the ground and he frowned at the sight of the scattered papers. Naruto didn't like the vibe that the man gave him, but he couldn't deny that the mess was partially his fault. With a groan, he knelt down and began to pick them up. He saw the man kneel down after a pause to collect the papers as well. A bit of shuffling later, they managed to gather all the papers and Naruto handed the other man the stack that he held.

He muttered an extremely quiet and unintelligible apology before quickly walking away towards his original direction. The blonde never noticed the business card the other man slipped into his pocket.

_You want to forget that ever happened. Want to forget that fleeting moment of contact you had with him when you handed him the papers._

_You want to forget the warm feeling you felt under his gaze._

_You want to forget that you ever wished for your special someone._

By the time he got back to his apartment, he was dead tired and completely fed up with his new job. Naruto had moved farther out of the city just to make his commute easier, but with the way things were progressing, he wasn't going to stay at his job for much longer.

He took off his jacket and dropped it on his couch and made his way to the shower. He hoped that things would look better after he felt cleaner. An hour later, he left the bathroom feeling slightly more cheerful and totally ready to take on the world.

Which meant attempting to cook something edible with what little ingredients he had.

Naruto peered into his refrigerator and frowned at the lack of food. He had forgotten to go shopping that weekend, but he didn't expect there to be no food at all. With a sigh, he closed the refrigerator and reached into a cupboard to retrieve one of his precious packs of ramen. He stood there and pouted for a moment, he had hoped to save the ramen for a special occasion- namely, the day he felt moving was finally worth it. But his stomach overruled his plans and he set about making his dinner.

Done in ten minutes, he finished eating his meal in five. He flopped onto the couch after washing the pot and bowl and reached for the remote. Channel surfing for a moment, he settled on the Sci-fi channel, finding nothing else remotely interesting on a Tuesday night. He glimpsed his jacket from the corner of his eye and Iruka's voice came into his head, reprimanding him for not picking up after himself.

Naruto groaned out loud, his upbringing wasn't about to let him leave the jacket on the couch when it was supposed to be on a hanger in the closet. Glancing at the television and finding nothing interesting happening, he dragged himself out of his seat and picked up the jacket on his way to the closet. Swinging the jacket on his way there, he became puzzled at the jingling sounding from his jacket. He blinked at his jacket in confusion. There wasn't supposed to be anything in the jacket, he just had it dry cleaned over the weekend and not enough time had passed for him to stuff his pockets with junk yet.

He reached into the pockets with both hands (somehow) and one hand came up empty, but the other hand held a white business card and a toy plushie with a bell attached.

What the…?

_You don't want to believe that you hold those two items in your hand because you recognize one of them from that morning and there was little doubt that the other one came from the same place._

_You wanted to forget, but it seemed as if he didn't want you to._

Naruto examined the toy carefully. It was a fox, a nine-tailed fox that looked loved if its worn fur was any indication. He was surprised that he hadn't felt it in his pocket, it wasn't a large toy, but it was not small enough for him to have not noticed for so long.

"Hmph, I should just keep this and show him what he gets for being so rude to me," but Naruto didn't speak with much determination, he knew a precious item when he saw one, and it was obvious that this was what it was. He finally switched his gaze to the business card and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_Chief Executive Officer_

_Sharingan Inc._

He flipped the card to find a fax and phone number, as well as an address. In pen, hastily written, was a number that was obviously for a cell phone, if the area code was any indication.

Uchiha Sasuke was a cocky, egotistical man.

Naruto was intrigued.

_You thought that there was something different about him. But no matter how interested you are, you don't want to take that step out… do you?_

Naruto kept the business card near him throughout the week. Once in a while, when he got bored at work, he brought it out to play with, twiddling it around his fingers while he wondered if he should call. The fox had not left his side since he discovered, he actually developed a habit of picking it up on his way out of his apartment and slipping it into whatever pocket he had. When he got tired and brought it up to his face, he could detect a faint smell from it. One of those smells that only came from being around one person or place for a long time. He couldn't pinpoint the exact smell, but whatever it was, it comforted him, just a little.

A sharp rap on his cubicle wall startled him into awareness, "Uzumaki, you're wanted upstairs."

Naruto turned around quickly to look at the speaker. Aburame Shino was a quiet, almost sullen guy who was the floor supervisor. They hadn't spoken since the first day he arrived at the building and his words surprised Naruto to his core. He had yet to establish any sort of relationship with any of his coworkers, but he was in the break room enough to hear the gossip about the higher floors.

No one, absolutely no one on the floor he was on and several floors above had gone to the higher floors before. The elevators they took to their floors didn't even go up that high. The company was one of those extremely exclusive ones that brought in so much money that the company officials had their own VIP elevators. There were tons of rumors about the extravagance of the rooms up there as well as the officials most of them never saw. The few workers who did see them always gushed about their appearance and their otherworldly attitude.

Those descriptions only added fuel to the roaring fire.

So when Naruto heard those words, his mind jumped around frantically, wondering why anyone from the higher floors would ever want to see him.

Shino gave him a side glance before leaving his area, "You better get moving; they don't like to be kept waiting."

_For some reason, there's this instinct you have that tells you that you're going to see him again. It's irrational, it's unexpected, but it's there._

_And you don't know whether you should run away from him… or run towards him._

Naruto stood anxiously in the elevator, staring at the numbers jumping up by fives on the LCD screen on the panel. There weren't any buttons on there, nothing to push to indicate which floor to go to. There was only a card slot and a small camera eye next to the screen. He bit his lip in a fit of nerves; the stories were slowly gaining more and more credibility. The elevator wasn't even normal! Who knew what the actual floors were like?

Before he could panic any further about what was going to happen to him, the elevator made a musical chime (a chime! A freaking chime! Not even a regular ding!) and the doors smoothly slid open to reveal a smartly dressed woman holding a file in her hands.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" she titled her head to look at him through her glasses and Naruto tried exceedingly hard not to make a smart-aleck comment about how impossible it would've been for someone to get up to that floor without being invited.

He only succeeded because the woman gave him a bright smile that totally threw him off balance as she did not look like the type to smile so freely.

"Please, follow me," she gave a little half-bow before turning and walking down the hallway. Naruto stepped out of the elevator and walked straight down, it was the only direction available to him. After walking a few yards, he passed by two doors, one on his right, and another on his left. What seemed like a few minutes later, he followed the woman around a corner and was blown away by the design of the doors in front of him.

Naruto was never one to appreciate art unless someone forced him to, but even he could see the painstaking work and care put into the doors. Phoenixes, dragons and wyverns decorated the door as both paintings and carvings. It was a surreal scene and he wouldn't have noticed it was a set of doors if it wasn't opened just a crack.

The woman, he presumed it was the secretary, placed her hand on one of the dragon's claws and opened the door further. She slipped inside, giving a little wave to Naruto that he took to mean as a signal for him to wait.

The blonde let his eyes wander over the door again and he followed a red-orange phoenix onto the wall to the right of him. His mouth fell open when he noticed the painting on the wall that he had missed before. It was an incredible giant of a painting exploding with reds, oranges, and yellows. It was decorated with vibrant greens and dull browns and royal purple.

It was the perfect picture of a legendary nine-tailed fox.

It showcased the fox's sleek fur and powerful legs; each tail was painted in motion and as Naruto continued to stare at it, he almost felt the painting move, almost felt the wind that blew through the trees in the forest the fox stood- no, prowled in.

He didn't know what drew him to the painting, but something about it called out to him. Before he could think about how crazy he was sounding, the secretary poked her head out from the door and gestured to him. She opened it a little wider and led Naruto into the room.

He stepped past the doorway, his anxiety returning again. He didn't love his job, that was true, but it was still a job he had been looking forward to since his interview months before. He couldn't help but think pessimistically- there was no way he was getting through this meeting without something going horribly wrong.

The room he had walked into was exactly how he imagined it to be. Expensive leather couches and armchairs, glass tables and marble counters. There was a bar at the far left of the room and a door offset to the right across from the doorway he just came through. A massive LCD television was embedded into the left wall, near the bar and a long row of bookcases lined the entire right wall. He followed the secretary to the door and waited as she knocked before cracking it open a bit.

Naruto was surprised when she didn't say anything to announce their arrival, only glanced around a bit before grinning widely.

She opened the door all the way and walked in, nodding at Naruto to indicate he was to follow her. He did so and was led to a comfortable looking chair in front of a huge polished oak table. Naruto sat down and nearly groaned at the softness of the chair, nearly sinking into it, but not quite. It was, after all, meant to be in a business office, it couldn't be that comfortable.

"Would you like anything to drink, Uzumaki-san?" the woman said this with a pleasant smile, but something about the way her eyes twinkled disturbed him.

"Ah, no. That's okay. Do you by any chance-"

He was cut off by her words, "Sasuke-sama will be out momentarily. Please feel free to make yourself comfortable." With that, she set the file she held in her hands on the table and walked back to the doors. But if he looked carefully enough, he could say that she was… _skipping_.

_You start to feel uneasy about the whole thing because the weird secretary just confirmed your suspicions. He called you up here._

_You want to know who he is, to be a CEO of such a company, except you're pretty sure that you weren't hired by Sharingan Inc. You want to know what made him contact you._

_You want to run._

"I apologize about my secretary. Sometimes I suspect she has MPD, but she's a good secretary and she knows her place, so I can't do much about it."

Naruto snapped his head over to where the voice came from and despite the suspicions he already had, he couldn't help but feel surprised that Uchiha Sasuke actually stood in front of him.

Shirtless.

Well, not completely, he was slipping a shirt on even as he walked towards the desk. Naruto swallowed hard and mentally shook himself, _'Get your act together'_, he thought.

By the time he regained his composure, Sasuke had put on his suit jacket and sat down on the leather chair on the other side of the desk. He folded his hands together and placed his elbows on the desk.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're on this floor?" For some odd reason, Naruto had an urge to punch that smug smirk off Sasuke's face. In order to rein that feeling in, he simply nodded, pressed his lips together and clenched his fists on his lap.

"Speechless? I'm surprised; I thought you would have a lot to say. You have quite a reputation, you know."

Naruto knew about the reputation he was talking about. He was a good worker and did his job perfectly, but he rarely gave his superiors the respect they expected without good reason. And that included voicing his opinion on anything and everything, whether they cared or not. But…

_You feel uneasy around him because you can tell he's going to change something._

_He's going to change your life the same way you always wished for._

_But you don't want _him_ to do it._

_Really._

Sasuke gazed at him intently, slightly puzzled by his silence, but with a shrug he continued, "As you should know this company screens their employees very carefully and needless to say, it came as quite a surprise when your interviewer recommended you for this job with high remarks. Now-"

Without any regard whatsoever for his superior, Naruto interrupted him with a sharp question, "Why exactly is it that you are the one speaking to me about my job? For that matter, why are you even here? Aren't you CEO of Sharingan Inc? I know that I was not hired by them."

He could tell the other man looked amused, but he couldn't help his confusion.

"Although this is not public knowledge, I expected you to know this. Either way, Sharingan Inc is the parent company to a number of other significant companies around the world. Its control over the individual companies is not broadcasted publicly anymore than it is legally required. We take great care to bury our name underneath piles of legal paperwork in order to gain as much profit as we have. Furthermore, since Sharingan Inc is directly involved with all the companies under its control, the job that was given to you was only possible by the allowance of those on the board of the parent company."

"I'm assuming, from your long speech, that you're basically telling me that I only have this job because you and the other higher officials are letting me?"

"Precisely."

"So what is it that you want from me?" Naruto could feel a headache approaching, that gut instinct that he always trusted was blaring red alerts at him now. Sasuke was up to no good, he could just feel it.

"Your introduction to this very private world is completely based on your past merits and the impression you made on our board. However, your continued presence in this company depends completely on the opinion of your supervisor." Sasuke paused here for dramatic purposes, almost hoping that the blonde would catch on.

"So whether I stay or not depends on Aburame?"

He did not.

"Because of the work you have done in your previous jobs and what we have learned of your private life, your supervision has been moved up to the highest of officials so that we can determine whether you're really worth it. In other words," Sasuke stood up and walked around the desk, slightly sitting on it and leaning towards Naruto, "from this point on, your life… is in my hands."

_You're in deep shit now._

**To be continued…**

* * *

**QY**- I figured that it's been a week, I should give you this in hopes of keeping my readers itnerested in this story until the 25th. Not only did I get writer's block a page before the end of this part (keeping in mind this was supposed to be a one-shot), December is apparently when my professors decide to pile final projects and tests on us. Because I am a procrastinator, this means everything that I had days to do, I did in hours. And I'm still not done.

Hopefully this will keep you satisfied for now. And never fear, after the 20th, I'll be making up for all the ones I haven't posted/written. Which further shows that I do not expect a lot of reviews from this fic since I will be mass-posting.

But I love the ones I have and I'd like to thank you all for reading/reviewing/faving/story-alerting.

You guys make my day (especially after all the calculus and chemistry).

Written: 12/04/06 8:45 p.m. to 10:02 p.m.

12/11/06 11:35 p.m. to 12:10 a.m.


	11. Generate

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

11.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru) Most people go through their lives waiting for that one special someone. But when you find them and realize they are not who you hoped they would be, what would you do? Reject or accept?

_Warnings:_ AU- allusions to canon; switches between Naruto's 2nd and 3rd POV; one-sided past NejiNaru

* * *

Generate

The next few weeks did little to soothe Naruto's nagging worries. He had yet to have another confrontation with Sasuke, nor did he receive any indication of his current status in the office. His co-workers had originally flocked around him the first few days after his summons, but his unusual tight-lipped attitude about the unsettling encounter caused the gossip to die down- at least around him.

Naruto spent his days in a hypnotizing routine, his original displeasure with the company gradually shifting to an anticipatory buzz.

Nothing had happened and Naruto was freaking out.

It was the calm before the proverbial storm, he just knew it, but there was nothing he could do.

Everything was at a standstill and Naruto was getting ansty – until news of Hyuuga Neji visiting caused a brand new wealth of gossip to flow through the floor.

It was common knowledge that Hyuuga's relationship with Uchiha was stemmed from and drenched with old family rivalries. It was not until Sasuke and Neji's generation that things had settled somewhat (mostly due to the Uchiha family's near extermination) and even now… the Sharingan and Byaguukan names had never been so fiercely pitted against each other.

Hyuuga Neji's visit had nothing to do with the blond, or so he supposed, but even so, a curl of anticipation settled at the bottom of his stomach and refused to unwind.

_You can feel what will happen. You already know the words and knowledge that will pass between the two men. After all, he had said that they knew about your private life and Neji was very much a part of it. He was the first one to ask for your heart._

_And you refuse to acknowledge the idea of another asking._

_Even as you clutch his possession tightly in your grasp._

"You need to get your head out of the clouds before you trip and fall farther than you've risen," a voice piped up from his cubicle's opening.

Naruto blinked in confusion, having nearly been on the verge of sleep. The sweet alto voice pierced through his drowsiness and he stretched, yawning, before looking at his new supervisor. Within the first few weeks Naruto had been there, Aburame was promoted from floor manager to level manager on account of the previous one – a man named Jiraiya – supposedly retiring to write porn. It was only a rumor, but spoken as a fact by those who were well acquainted with his peculiarities. Surprisingly, his new floor manager was a person he had not seen since middle school: pretty-in-pink Haruno Sakura, whom he had once professed everlasting love to only to get smacked as a reply.

Naruto had since moved on, but once in a while felt a bit sore at the entire thing. Thrust into one funky situation while shoves into another stewing mess. He and Sakura reconciled though – had bonded quite well after nearly 15 years of separation – until Naruto broached the Sasuke topic and barely survived with his limbs attached.

In another twist of fate, Naruto found out that Sakura had spent most of her high school life chasing after the famed Uchiha Sasuke. It was only after leaving for college that she slowed down and gave up. Nevertheless, she kept her communication with Sasuke, allowing her to become one of the few people that he dared to call a friend. As such, Sakura realized the significance of the meeting even while Naruto vehemently tried to deny any such thing.

He realized the error of his ways with a few well-placed and well-timed bitch slaps. His cheeks still stung in remembrance- both sets of them.

"What's the point of dwelling under the clouds when there's nothing interesting to do?" Naruto threw her a cheeky grin and she smiled exasperatingly.

"Regardless of whether there's anything interesting to do, you know that you're under strict supervision, so you better finish that pile of paperwork on your desk before you even think about going to sleep." Sakura said sternly, eyes staring at him intently.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll finish my work, don't worry about it." Naruto waved his hand carelessly as a reply.

Sakura clenched her teeth in frustration, Naruto was taking his situation too lightly. He had no idea that if he was fired from the company, he would be locked out of virtually half of the companies in the industry and be hard-pressed to get a job in the other half. But explaining would do her no good, she knew, so she just gave out a frustrated puff of air, spun of her heel and stomped off.

When the sound of her steps faded, the blonde closed his eyes in defeat.

_You haven't seen him more than two times; had barely spoken to him; had barely learned anything about him. But you feel a pull towards him._

_And you're on the brink of giving up and following that pull just to see where it will lead you._

* * *

"How is he doing?" A casual question, but even Sasuke could tell that it was backed up by more than what was said.

"He's doing well enough. I'm surprised you even let him leave your company."

Neji blinked slowly, "There was nothing I could do about his unhappiness at his job. He seemed extremely excited when he heard that a position had opened in this company. Besides, he needed more than I could give him- I wanted to see if you were up to the task."

Sasuke chuckled lightly, hands busy at work even while he conversed with the other genius. "Are you sure you're willing to give him up just like that? You seem quite agitated."

And it was true, for Neji's hands were fisted tightly despite his neutral expression and voice.

"Besides, what made you think I would even be interested in him? Or that he would be interested in me?" Sasuke asked with genuine curiosity, even pausing his motions to listen to Neji's answer.

"No matter how subtle it may be at work, no matter how flexible it is, fate and destiny will make certain that some things will remain the same," Neji smiled enigmatically, relaxing for the first time since he entered the building. "Naruto once told me that he was waiting for his special person to save him, to rescue him from his so-called darkness." He bent his head in thought, "I asked him if he thought I could ever be the one and he said-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sasuke's door was thrown open and his secretary ran through it straight up to his desk.

"Sasuke-sama! Sasuke-sama! Trouble, trouble!" She looked panicked, and seemed on the verge of tears, but Sasuke merely sighed and closed his eyes.

"What is it now, Shina?"

"It's almost lunchtime and I don't know what to get you and Neji-san for lunch? What should I do?!?" Her hands fluttered around frantically, eyes widening and narrowing in an attempt to hide her tears.

"Shina… Shina. Shina! Calm down. Neji, what would you like to eat?" Sasuke emphasized his words while he spoke, eyes on Shina the entire time.

With a hint of amusement, "I feel like I want Italian today, from anywhere and anything is fine." As each word passed through his lips, the secretary grew more calm until he finished speaking and she bowed in apology.

"Of course, Neji-san. Sasuke-sama, I apologize for my rude interruption." She kept her head lowered and waited for his response.

He sighed a little before dismissing the incident, "It's fine, just… try to control yourself next time."

"Of course, Sasuke-sama. And if I may ask, will Naruto-san be joining you today?"

Her question caused Sasuke to jerk and look at her oddly, "Why would he be joining us for lunch?"

Shina looked at her boss in confusion, "But it's already been three weeks. Sasuke-sama usually does something to make his victims unsettled by now."

She said it so plainly and matter-of-fact that Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to scold her for calling his dates 'victims'. It was true in a way, he supposed. Besides, her words did make a bit of sense. He glanced at Neji from the corner of his eye, contemplating his next step. There wasn't an obvious opinion on the other man's face, but Sasuke knew better than to trust appearances.

"After the food arrives, ask Sakura to inform Naruto of his new lunch plans."

"As you wish," she bowed and turned to walk away, once again skipping a little through the doorway.

"Your secretary…" Neji trailed off.

"She was the only one who was able to deal with my 'moods' and not just simply fawn over my looks and wealth."

"Ah."

Sasuke leaned his head on his hand and his eyes slid halfway down. Looking at Neji from beneath his eyelids, he contemplated the other man quietly. "Why?"

They were rivals who knew each other through and through and yet remained complete strangers, but they always understood each other. In a move unlike him, Neji shrugged and said, "I figured that if I helped him find his special someone, I might be able to find mine."

The Uchiha heir looked at him intently before closing his eyes and smiling softly, "You'll find yours soon enough."

They sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes, each deep in their own thoughts.

* * *

Over an hour later, all hell broke loose when Naruto punched Sasuke in the face. His pained grunt managed to reach Shina's ears and with a frightening battle cry, she ran into the room, leapt at Naruto and clung to him, her arms clasped tightly around the blonde's neck.

Touching his cheek and eye, Sasuke checked the extent of his injuries before sharply saying, "Shina, release him this instant!"

She looked at him pleadingly, "But Sasuke-sama! He hurt you! You can't-"

"Now, Shina!"

The brunette reluctantly loosened her grip on Naruto and slowly slid down the few inches she jumped back onto the floor. She gave a little pout but went into the door off to the side of the office and came back with an icepack.

"Here."

As soon as Sasuke took the icepack and placed it on his face, numbing the pain just a little, Shina let out a little huff and stomped out of the room. But not before she shot a nasty glare at Naruto, causing him to take a small step back, not that he would ever admit it to anyone if they asked. He rubbed at his throat, regretting his rashness just a little. He scowled and retracted his thought, the bastard deserved what he got.

_You wonder, for just a moment, if your reaction was a bit too harsh. Looking at his slowly coloring face brings a twinge to your heart._

_It was just a kiss._

_Was it truly that horrible?_

Silence fell over the room and Naruto shifted uncomfortably when Sasuke continued to ignore him in favor of checking for any shattered bones. He winced every once in a while and pointedly ignored Naruto's hesitant steps towards him. Unfortunately, Neji had left earlier due to a supposed emergency at his company and was unable to provide a distraction.

"I'm… sorry?"

Sasuke scoffed at the apology. It wasn't even a proper one; it sounded more like he was testing out the words than actually meaning it.

"I'm serious! I didn't mean to punch you. You just… surprised me." Naruto said awkwardly, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't take the punch too seriously.

"If I surprised you so much, why didn't you just push me away? I understand that you don't feel that way about me, but you didn't have to _punch_ me, you idiot." Sasuke tried to reign in his temper, but failed dismally. He was pissed.

"I…" Naruto fell silent, not knowing what to say to make it better.

_You regret it now. So badly. You didn't want him to be the one. Didn't think it was possible._

_But you feel closer to him than you do to anyone else._

_It couldn't be mere coincidence._

_Are you willing to take the next step?_

Steeling his nerves, Naruto walked up to Sasuke and placed both his hands on the other man's shoulder. The brunette petulantly tried to shrug off his hands, but his grip was too tight. He scowled fiercely.

"What are you thinking about doing now? Choking me to- mmph" Sasuke was cut off by another pair of lips.

Slowly, reluctantly, he softened his lips and accepted the kiss. It was what he wanted anyway.

It was tender, sweet, and delicious. It was cool vanilla ice cream on a hot day, rich chocolate milk on a cold day, spicy curry on a relaxing day, dreams and wishes and-

Naruto's kisses sucked.

But Sasuke bore with it and smiled lightly against the blond. It took a little longer than he expected, but he finally got Konoha's Number One Ninja at Surprises back where he belonged.

In his arms.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** So, from now on, do not believe me when I promise or swear that I will get a chapter up. Never again. But I always finish what I start. Even if it's (looks at DR) over a year and a half later. Much less this story. Ahem. I have the next 2.5 chapters ready. So if inspiration hits soon (and I get my schedule fixed) I should finish sometime… this year.

As one last note, the second to last sentence is there because this authoress cannot feel her fingers anymore because of the cold and decided that whatever comes out will be good enough. And that is what came out. Take it as you will.

Written: 1/16/07 8:45 pm to 11:45 pm (More like typed and severely edited, but eh)


	12. Yield

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

12.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu) Kisses are more than just a meeting of two mouths. It's a complete change in your state of mind.

_Warnings:_ Nameless; A true drabble (success!); Not really a warning but... ohmigosh, it's almost symmetrical! (feels proud)

* * *

Yield

It was a light kiss, with fewer emotions involved than he expected. There was an almost clinical feeling to it, an emptiness that was emphasized through their bodily distance.

It started as an experiment and despite everything, remained as one that was bereft of all feelings.

He wanted to break away.

It pulled at his heartstrings, manipulated his mind; overwhelmed his soul and forced him to surrender.

It rendered his body immobile. There was a rush flowing through his system as if seeking to revive something that had died in the aftermath of another experiment.

He wanted to feel again.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** There are several reasons why I wrote this without names. The main idea being that even taking away any romantic notions us fangirls have, Naruto and Sasuke are startlingly similar. Try putting either name in the two sections. It makes only a small difference. At the same time, the other idea is that the entire drabble can be from one POV. And still, it works without changing much of the original idea.

Written: 1/16/07 12:05 am to 12:30 am (I count slow, alright?!?)


	13. Demands

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**_30 Kisses_** --- QianYun

13.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu) You can demand anything of me, tell me to do anything. But I won't listen. Because I can't.

_Warnings:_ Nameless (again); A bit repetitive; Slightly confusing; Short

* * *

Demands

"Hit me"

He received no response to his request, in fact, he was pretty sure the other boy was ignoring him. He didn't like it.

"Look at me."

There was a flicker beneath his eyelids that may or may not have meant something. He didn't have the heart to analyze it.

"Fight me."

There might've been a twitch in his hands, but it might've been wishful thinking. Time dragged on and he left once again.

"Listen to me."

He was pleading now, something he rarely did and hadn't wanted to start. It was a small request, but one that never received an answer.

"Move me."

He was hovering over him now, a looming presence that could not have been missed. The other boy did nothing to comfort him, did nothing to show _his_ discomfort.

"Touch me."

His hand ghosted over his cheek, aching to touch the soft skin once more but unable to do so. His other hand clenched the blanket tightly, refusing to move all the way.

"Speak to me."

It had been days and he continued to feel neglected. Tears unwillingly swelled up in his eyes and he clenched them tightly to prevent the drops from falling.

"Understand me."

He continued to talk until his voice was hoarse, hoping his words would reach the other. He spoke until he could say no more.

"Break me."

For a moment, irrational anger bloomed in his voice, ripping his heart raw. He wanted to give up, but knew that doing so would be cowardly.

"Need me."

The heart hurt, but the mind persevered. Blood poured from his lip as a result of his teeth harshly worrying it.

"Kiss me."

Crimson blood spilled from his lips to the other's mouth. And salty tears ran down to mix with the precious liquid.

"Love me."

Sobs broke out before they were muffled with a fist. His hand finally moved and he bit through the skin in his excitement.

"Leave me."

His eyes began to flutter open, a groan escaping his lips. By the time he could blink away his drowsiness, light streamed through the open window to shine upon the drops of blood on the hospital bed.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** The short of this piece is that as I wrote it, it shifted premises pretty quickly. Towards the end, I assumed that this piece is written either before Naruto and Sasuke's first fight on the roof, or after the fight at the Valley of the End (?). For more explanations, I posted up a mini-essay on my lj on what this piece could mean. If you care, you can read it there, my username is **the(underscore)ladder**. I'll tag it with 30 kisses. If you are content with leaving this a mystery, the way I ended up leaving _Generate_, continue on with your merry lives.

Written: 1/16/07 12:40 am to 1:24 am


	14. Venerable

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

14.

_Summary:_ (NaruSasu) Family is important. Family is everything. But family is so very easy to betray. And to forgive.

_Warnings:_ OCs; Future-fic; Vagueness; Hypothetical plot holes

* * *

Venerable

"What was your first kiss like?"

Tired blue eyes blinked slowly at the visitor, a smile stretching his lips before an answer came, "What's with the random question?"

Two small hands clenched the blanket covering him while bright blue eyes shone up at him. "C'mon dad, you said you'll tell me all the stories about you and father!" She seemed on the verge of tears, but the man knew better than to believe them. Her godmother taught her too well it seemed. But he chuckled lightly as a response, amused that his daughter would choose such a time to take him up on his promise. He felt tired, but as always, he was unwilling to deny her request.

"It was an accident," he started suddenly, "neither of us wanted it, but it happened anyway."

"Oh, oh! Was it a setup?" Tatsuki interrupted cheerfully.

He laughed full and grand from his tummy, "No, it wasn't like that," he trailed off thoughtfully, "Or at least, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a setup. Your father was popular back then, even more than now, in fact." When Tatsuki made a face that indicated how absurd she thought that idea was, he grinned and tousled her hair, "Amazing, I know, but most people were attracted to his dark brooking look more than anything else. Some of the girls didn't appreciate the idea of your father changing and being happy with someone like me."

Her eyes widened in disbelief, "But dad! You're like the coolest, best person around. Why would anyone not like you!"

He winked at her before carelessly replying, "I am pretty cool, aren't I? It's hard to imagine why everyone isn't fawning over my great looks and overwhelmingly awesome personality."

Tatsuki childishly rolled her eyes before laughing at him, "Stop stalling already! Tell me about the kiss."

He brought up his hands as it surrendering, "Okay, okay, you caught me." He tapped his chin in contemplation, "it was the day when the new genins were assigned to their three-man team…"

She listened in rapture, caught up in the story of her parents' first kiss. She burst out laughing at times and exaggerated her wincing at others. Although she paid attention to his every word and motion, she couldn't help noticing the slight grimaces that crossed his face at certain motions and his pain-clouded eyes. Her hands tightened on the blankets and she bit her lip when it almost got too much for her. But she was her dad's daughter and she never failed to keep up her smile.

It didn't matter anymore that she knew she wasn't truly related to him; it didn't matter that she wasn't related to her father either; it didn't even matter that she had no idea who her biological parents were: seeing her beloved dad in pain was enough to erase all her doubts. She just wanted him to be okay and happy again.

It didn't matter that she had actually heard this story already from all of his friends and colleagues. It didn't matter that she knew in time he would get better. It didn't matter that she realized her dad was strong and would get through this coming out stronger in the end.

All that mattered was that she had to keep his mind off the present and on the past. A past where he wasn't lying on bed recuperating longer than he should be and where her father hadn't failed to report back two weeks ago.

The past was beautiful and everlasting. The past carried pain and regrets, but it was the past where their first, second, third and who knows how many kisses occurred.

She took a deep breath as subtly as she could and blinked rapidly to push away the tears.

"And then you found out you were on the same team?" She spoke incredulously as if it was a new story, new knowledge, and a fact that seems to be incredibly ironic in such a story.

He nodded emphatically and laughed loudly, "Man, I was so disappointed and happy at the same time. I never knew back then, what it meant to be in a team like that."

Seeing him lean back a little in fatigue, Tatsuki wondered if she should leave him to rest, but seeing a little of the pain return dissuaded her from that.

She frowned lightly in thought before an idea hit her and she brightened. With genuine curiosity, she asked, "Which kiss did you like the best?" She had thought the question would lighten him, but instead his grinning face slowly fell until a strange solemn look settled. She almost retracted her question, but saw a sweet wistfulness in his eyes that although accompanied by sadness, was filled with a soothing tenderness.

Softly, "The kiss I liked the best was the one I thought would be the last…"

-huzzah-

_It was desperate, awkward and angry. And despite the many times they had done it before, it was also new._

_The kiss was new in its ferocity, its intensity, the feeling that it was overflowing with an ache that would not cease. Their hands grabbed at clothing, at skin, at hair, at anything they could reach even while their mouths moved frantically against each other._

_Their tongues slithered together and apart, exploring and plunging into familiar territory. They broke apart for a moment to breathe, lips swollen red and full. He dipped his head to brush gently across the other's, suddenly tender and sweet: a final kiss of goodbye, a final kiss of confession._

_Sasuke brought his hands up to cup Naruto's face and whispered fiercely, "I will come back. Wait for me." And just like that, he was gone._

-huzzah-

Tatsuki let out a breath in the face of the emotions she felt from her dad. She was so moved that for a second, her image flickered like a candle on the verge of extinguishing, "When- when did this happen?"

"Two years before we adopted you. Two years before we felt happy enough to settle for having less and giving more. Two years before your light brightened our lives." Naruto turned his head to look at her, he smiled softly. "You can release the genjutsu, I've known since you walked in."

Tatsuki closed her eyes tightly and brought her hands together. "Kai," she whispered under her breath. And in the place of eleven-year-old blonde Tatsuki, nineteen-year-old brunette Mito sat. She laughed tearfully, "I guess I should have known better than to fool you, huh?"

Naruto patted her head with a fond smile, "You trained with Kurenai-san, if I didn't watch you grow up for fifteen years and your sister for eight, there was no way I would've been able to tell."

"Why…" She broke off, fists clenching on her lap. Naruto watched her with his trademark smile, teeth showing and eyes curved. "Why are you treating me so nicely? I-" she growled, "I betrayed you _and_ father!"

He gave an amused chuckle, "Did you know that your father once betrayed this entire village?" Her head shot up in surprise, "What?!?"

"He left for revenge; he wanted to get more power, he said. Stupid bastard didn't believe me when I said he could do it with us. I had spent a year with him as a teammate, but I spent four years searching for him and kicking his ass to try to get him back. I fell in love with him two years later. Do you really think I wouldn't forgive my daughter of 15 years for betraying her family?"

"I think, dad," she started ruefully, "betraying a family that actually cared about me from the very beginning is a bit worse than betraying a village that didn't know who you were."

"You've heard the story then?" Naruto cocked his head in question, eyes twinkling in the way it always did when he knew the answer but was too dense to realize he did.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head simultaneously when she realized she was reverting back to her childhood ways by simply being around her father, she stated plainly, "Kakashi babysat me for years. Did you really think he wasn't going to dish all the dirt he had on you guys to me when he had the chance? Although he never mentioned that part of your lives before…"

"There were some things Kakashi thought were best to leave alone," his eyes shifted to the side, "the circumstances weren't the best during that time."

Mito placed a hand over her mouth with a flourish, "What's this I hear? Uzumaki Naruto being _discrete_?!?"

"Hey! Even I know when there are things hat are best left unsaid," his eyes brightened as he spoke with a joking tone.

"Ha! You only learned that after father-" Mito broke off suddenly, realizing again what brought her to this position at this time. "I'm…" her fists tightened again, "I'm sorry. I know it can't change anything and it probably doesn't mean much. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I didn't really understand that it would go so far." She lowered her head and as Naruto watched her, his gaze softened, following her tears as they plopped onto her lap. He reached over and squeezed her hand, "It's okay. Sasuke will be back. Your father is a lot strong than you think."

For some reason, instead of feeling reassured, his words caused her anger to flare up and she burst out, "I didn't betray you and father for a bunch of weaklings. They're strong! A lot stronger than you when you were young and definitely stronger than you now, the way you are."

Naruto's smile dropped at her statement and his face grew serious, "We may have given up the chance to become Anbu or hunter-nins, but we haven't given up on our dreams of being shinobi strong enough to take care of our important people. You've been gone for four years, had barely acknowledged us for the year before. Did you honestly think we had no idea what you were up to? Do you think your father and I were too stupid to realize how much you resented us and who you hung out with just to spite us? We loved you, but we weren't blind," his anger bled out and he deflated, "We know what you went through, your father most of all. We understood perfectly what you thought you were doing and we also understood that you would come back. We never gave up on you and I would be severely hurt if you even _think_ of giving up on your father,"

She stared at him, green eyes still shining from her tears. Mito opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to change her mind and closed it in silence.

"Your father and I have changed a lot since we were your age. We've been forced to grow too soon too much too many times. But we still understand. Like father, like daughter, right?" Naruto laughed out cheerfully, easily breaking the tension in the room. Not for the first time, Mito was glad he could do that so easily.

"Now go and get your sister back from the tree house, I'm sure she's gotten bored since you put her there three days ago."

Mito gaped at him, wondering how he could've figured it out so fast… Naruto's eyes twinkled in laughter, "I said I knew it was you when you walked in, I never said I only knew today."

"I guess I really should've known better."

"That's right! Never underestimate Uzumaki Naruto!"

Mito stood and bowed, "I'm sorry for everything, dad. And thank you. Thank you for having me back."

As she started to walk out the room, Naruto called out, "Don't thank me yet. I won't be able to protect you from your father's brooding when he comes back."

And for the first time in over four years, Naruto finally got to hear his daughter's genuine laughter.

Mito closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. Being around Naruto again as herself made her memories of the past revive and take over her. She had wondered so many times if it was worth it and now… She walked into the living room and sank into the couch, more memories flitting past her mind's eye, quicker and quicker. At some point, tears started to pour down her cheeks and sobs haltingly escaped.

"Father, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to go so far. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry." She began to rock back and forth, trying to calm herself down. Mito was so intent in her sorrow that when a hand began to pet her hair, she was so startled that she flipped over the couch and fell neatly into a ready stance. At the sight of her father's quirked eyebrow and slightly upturned lips, she threw herself at him and started frantically mumbling into his shirt.

Sasuke stared down at his daughter's head and placed his hand on her hair, soothingly caressing it. "I missed you too, but I would be grateful if you didn't try to break my cracked ribs."

Mito released him in a hurry, her wildly shocked face causing him to chuckle.

"Welcome home, Mito. Where's your dad?"

Wordlessly, she pointed towards the general direction of the bedroom. Sasuke nodded to her and began walking towards the staircase. "You might want to get Tatsuki out of the tree house before she starts dismantling it in boredom." He then disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Mito to once again leave her mouth hanging open.

Her parents were the weirdest people around… but she wouldn't want them any other way. She slowly turned to go to the backdoor, her eyes lingering on the bedroom door. With one last glance, she turned and ran out calling, "Tatsuki, you can get out now!"

Distantly, a relieved "Thank God!" rang out in the backyard.

-huzzah-

The door opened and closed quietly, similar to the soft steps crossing the room. Smiling brightly, Naruto turned his head and said, "Welcome home."

Sasuke answered with a soft smile and an "I'm home". With no other words, he carefully bent over the blond and slowly, cautiously kissed him. It was a gentle kiss of homecoming, love, desire, and satisfaction. They brushed their lips repeatedly, tongues occasionally darting out to taste each other. With one last kiss and a sigh, they parted.

Naruto pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, "Our family is complete again." They continued to look into each other's eyes for a few moments more.

"So, how many guys did you beat up?"

And laughter echoed through the room.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** This has a lot of potential in being a snapshot of a longer story. But I dun wanna. So nyah. Anyway, I don't think I have the dedication to start another multi-chap, it's bad enough as it is. I actually wrote this a while ago, back in January, but I didn't want to post it until I had the next chapter ready- the OCs prolly made some people uneasy. XP But I'm back, at an odd time, considering it's my last week of the semester and I have all my finals coming up. Ahem, but expect the story to be finished within a few weeks (months). Finally.

Written: 1/18/07

Typed: 5/2/07


	15. Bubbles

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

15.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu) The air bubbles in the tape bothered him. He wanted the gift to be perfect. But he'll settle for giving it to Naruto on time.

_Warnings:_ I… don't think there really is any… Darn, I knew it: TWT (timeline? what timeline?)

* * *

Bubbles

Whenever he tried to tape something together, he was never able to smooth out all the bubbles. Little pockets of air stubbornly refused to disperse and always left his work looking a little less neat than he expected. It wasn't enough that the sticky little buggers managed to catch onto his clothes and cling onto his fingers; it had to ruin his neat packaging. Although he supposed it didn't matter this time, the little bubbles that refused to go away. Naruto would undoubtedly rip the tape away without even noticing the bubbles.

Sasuke gazed at the wrapped present solemnly. It was a small but expensive gift and the bubbles in the tape bothered him. Little bumps of air that interrupted the previously smooth surface, mocking him in all of its… bubbleness.

He decided he wanted to wrap it again. So even though he wasn't going to reuse the wrapping paper – it was just a small scrap of it, really – he carefully peeled off the tape, scraping the corner and plucking it off. Sasuke's lips pursed in thought, the tape had ripped off the paper's design despite his care.

Maybe he needed to get new tape?

But he shrugged it off and snipped an appropriate amount of wrapping paper once again to cover the gift. It had a simple design, orange swirls on a dark blue background, the contrast making it seem brighter, louder.

Sasuke folded the paper carefully, making sure to crease the paper only where necessary. He cut off a piece of tape and carefully smoothed it out onto the paper.

There was a bubble.

Sasuke frowned at it, but it was only one, so he left it alone. He turned the present around and repeated the process. There were more bubbles this time. His forehead creased in annoyance before a "riiip" was heard.

He started over again.

Ten pieces of wrapping paper and thirty pieces of tape later, there were still too many bubbles for Sasuke to be satisfied with. But it was getting late and if he kept trying, he wouldn't be able to give his present on time. And that thought bothered him more than the bubbles.

Five minutes later, he left his residence for Naruto's apartment,

Eight minutes after that, he was greeted with a wide grin and begrudgingly accepted the kiss on his cheek.

"I thought that you weren't going to come," though despairing words, Naruto said it with a grin, eyes closed in an attempt to hide the fading but still present pain.

"Don't be an idiot, I'm obviously here." Sasuke scowled lightly, not pleased with the idea that Naruto had so little faith in him.

"Well, come in! Come in!" Naruto opened his door all the way and gestured the brunet in. Stepping in, he made his way to the couch and sat down. After a moment's pause, the blonde sat next to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a present shoved into his hands.

Naruto blinked at it.

"Sasuke! You got me a present! So you do have a heart under that glare." He teased him lightly, laughing when Sasuke's scowl deepened.

"Open it."

And as Sasuke expected, Naruto tore through the wrapping paper and tape without ever noticing the bubbles.

A velvet jewelry box lay bare before him and he shot a curious glance at Sasuke before opening it. Inside laid a curved piece of metal, almost like a dog tag except it was curved in such a way that two holes were placed on the end, clearly showing that a chain would thread through the two. Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion, but Sasuke's hands on his neck made him look up.

The necklace he had worn since that day and rarely realized was present because of its familiarity was unlinked for the first time in years. The brunet slid the stone out and took the metal plate. He slid the chain through one hole, replaced the stone and threaded the chain through the second hole. Holding the ends of the chain, the two pieces settled at the midpoint.

The metal plate cradled the stone like both a base and a shield. Sasuke tilted it and an etching of the Konoha symbol glinted at Naruto. His eyes widened in surprise and he began to smile brightly.

A soft smile spread on Sasuke's lips, but then he turned the necklace around and showed two more engravings. Naruto's spiral and Sasuke's family symbol. They were not literally linked in any way, but rather, was placed together almost in a fashion that would indicate their dependence on one another. A small, skinny, inconsequential line etching led from the deeper etching of the end of the spiral and in between the two parts of the fan before breaking into a sharp line, creating a pseudo image of the Konoha symbol. It was indeed a small gift, but one that spoke volumes in its symbolism.

Naruto reached for the necklace and touched it with care. The necklace was already incredibly important to him and with the new addition, it was doubly so. He clasped it around his neck and after gripping it for a few moments, slipped it back under his shirt. He shifted over and pulled Sasuke into a hug, ignoring the slight stiffening he felt under his hands.

"Thank you." And he said nothing more than that.

After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke brought his arms up and embraced Naruto.

The gift really did mean a lot- from the bubbles in the tape to the hug he received. It was as if the bubbles were the problems and hiccups they always encountered even while they tried to hold their relationship together. The wrapping paper- the façade they showed others. The box was like the masks and walls they put on their minds and hearts. The gift was their acknowledgement of each other and the hugs and smiles and occasional kisses- the heart of their relationship. It was not always there, not always apparent, but it was always ready to show its existence to the world.

* * *

**Owari**

**QY-** Years of English classes has forced me to see symbolism in everything I write- or at least try. My explanation for the last paragraph. It could be ignored but… well, take it as you will. And the kiss here was a mere mention, but its there, so I cannot be reprimanded. XD

On another note, I would like to thank all the people reviewing this series. I tried to personally reply to each one in the beginning, but quickly lost time to do so. I may start up again when school ends, but we'll see.

And of course, how would I have reviewers if I didn't have readers. I know there are lurkers (and this is not me flattering myself, I am an occasional lurker as well) mostly due to the fact that there are favorites and alerts with names that I do not see on the review page. I'm glad you thought this series worthy enough to do so, and I appreciate it. So even if reviewers hold a special place in my heart (heh), I'm ecstatic about you reader-lurkers as well.

Halfway there now!

Written: 5/2/07 11:46 p.m. to 12:22 a.m.


	16. Ringing

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

16.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru) The room was too silent; his ears were ringing and he couldn't figure out a way to make it stop before he went insane.

_Warnings:_ I think, actually, that TWT is pretty much applicable to entire series…; drabble-esque

* * *

Ringing

His ears were ringing. It was quiet all around him, barely enough noise was made to banish that incessant ringing. He had been alone for hours and most likely would be for hours more. He was bored, he was tired and he was absolutely annoyed by the ringing.

He had tried humming, but abandoned the idea when the silence around him nearly scolded him for it. So he tried to concentrate on the ringing, hoping it would go away. Unfortunately, it only seemed to get louder.

He was going to be driven crazy by a technically non-existent noise. What a way to fly off the deep end.

The sound of wood creaking nearby made him crane his neck to see, but there was nothing there.

Just the ringing.

He decided to start pacing and the deliberate noises he made caused the ringing to recede just a bit. He walked around a little faster and faster and faster and then…

He got hit.

Dazed by the sudden action, he took a few moments to reorient himself. Before he could do so, his face was grabbed and his lips roughly taken. He moaned wantonly and brought his hands up to grasp the shirt in front of him. A minute later, his lips were released and he panted heavily.

"Will you stop pacing so that I can finish the mission report?!?"

Oh yeah, he had forgotten Sasuke was there. He nodded dumbly and was left to his devices again.

Well, at least his panting drowned out the ringing in his ears.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** Inspired by those nights in bed when that damn ringing was making me crazy. This way of getting rid of it seems so much better.

Written: 5/3/07 12:28 a.m. to 12:40 a.m.


	17. Hallucinations

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

17.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru) Waiting for the train is frustrating, sitting in one even more so. Until you start hallucinating about something that doesn't quite exist...

_Warnings:_ AU; OC POV (this is debatable, as it is based on me, but there's not enough details to pinpoint it as my POV. It's really meant to be a general 3rd person female POV, kinda); **Strong** T rating

* * *

Hallucinations

The train rumbled past her as she tapped her foot impatiently. Another express train, another local train going in the wrong direction and yet more trains passing by, none of which was the one she needed. She scowled at nothing in particular and crossed her arms in front of her chest. A moment later, she uncrossed them to fiddle with her book bag, her jaw clenching in anger and she reached into the pocket to take out her cell phone. As she opened it to check the time, another train rolled in; this time it was finally the one she needed.

She waited for the crowd of passengers to exist and stepped in, just barely missing getting caught by the doors. She huffed in exasperation before moving to find a seat. Spotting one easily, she sat down with a flourish and allowed her brow to relax. If nothing else, at least she had a chair now. Her ride was an hour long and if she had to stand the entire way… god help anyone who crossed her path. Or even looked at her weirdly.

A few stops later, most of the passengers left the car and in confusion, she checked the time. She rode the train during rush hour and usually- with a silent gasp, she stared at her phone. Somehow, within the last few stops, hours had passed and it was nearing 9 o'clock. She looked up in thought – how was it possible that so much time had passed? – but her eyes caught sight of two men she had not realized were there before.

She was ready to dismiss them and leave them alone on their side of the car before she looked closer and was startled to see a shock of blonde hair and dark, luscious black hair. She always had an intense fascination with seeing those two hair colors together and here was an opportunity to stare unabashedly, not even needing to be worried about getting caught because of the angle. She glanced at the display to check the stop they were at and was satisfied to see that she had a good 45 minutes before hers. Hopefully the other two stayed nearly as long.

She was content to just stare at the two men – friends by the look of it, since the car was empty and they still sat together – and then the blond burst out in anger, yelling at the other man.

To her disappointment, they were too far away and the train was too noisy for her to hear. But the snatches of words she caught didn't seem to be in English anyway. She continued to watch them despite that, curiosity getting a good grip on her, making it hard to turn away.

She watched as the blond jumped up and started waving his hands around in frustration, the brunet never seeming to respond.

She watched as he started getting louder- she could nearly hear everything; although she still didn't understand, there was a nagging thought about the familiarity of the language.

She watched as his face began to color in fury.

She watched as the brunet only continued to watch the blond with steady eyes and an impassive face.

She was so intent on watching that she nearly jumped when the blond shouted, "Teme! Sasuke no baka, are you listening to me?" The mix of English and the sudden realization that he was speaking in Japanese – and words she _recognized_ – set her heart beating furiously. She peeked at the two men again and her face flared up as red as a tomato. It seemed that during her moment of shock, the brunet - Sasuke – found a way to keep the blonde silent and it was making her blush profusely.

Sasuke had, it seemed, pulled the blond down into his lap to grab his face and bring him into a kiss. It wasn't a chaste kiss and their hands did not stay in one place. One of them moaned and the blond grabbed Sasuke's hair roughly, pulling him closer to the wall. Sasuke shoved his hands up the blond's back and within moments, she could hear the 'pop, cling' of a button ripping off and falling to the floor.

She slowly sank lower into her seat, but kept her line of vision of the two clear. She felt voyeuristic and slightly perverted, but it was hot and there was no one around so…

And there went the blond's shirt. She patted her chin to make sure she wasn't drooling and stared at the man's lined back, taut from tension and obviously belonging to a man who worked out. If only she could…

As if her unspoken wishes were answered, Sasuke ripped his lips away from the blond's and suckled the tanned neck before him, causing the blond to throw his head back and to rise on his knees. She gulped nervously as the blond nearly bent over in half to allow Sasuke to move down his body, a trail of little red marks left in his wake.

She brought her hand up to bite at her nails, enraptured by the scene before her. She could not take her eyes away, could not blink. The blond, frustrated once again, pulled Sasuke's head up to ravish his mouth and he ground his hips down, causing a groan to ring lightly through the car – although considering the distance… it was quite a loud groan.

It was the blond's turn to rip Sasuke's shirt off, although this time none of the buttons fell off. Unlike Sasuke, he did lnot eave a trail of red marks down the pale skin, he just bit down harshly on his shoulder, a moan of pleasure rising from Sasuke's lips to envelop her.

By this time, she had sank so low on her seat that she was almost off of it and while part of her was hoping it would never end, most of her wanted them to stop so that her face would stop being so damn _red_.

Meanwhile, the two men had returned to sucking each other's face off and for a moment she relaxed thinking that their activities would soon taper off, as the blond looked rather content, but a split second later, Sasuke _looked_ straight at her and she stiffened up so much, she nearly did fall off the chair. And the blush that she thought could not get any deeper burned on her cheeks.

Suddenly, the announcement of a new stop echoed through the car and the doors opened to allow a massive amount of people to stream into the car. As the doors closed and the passengers settled down, she finally sat up and peeked at the corner where the two men were.

There was no sign of them and she squashed down the disappointment that wanted to rise. She relaxed back into her seat and breathed deeply in an attempt to will away her blush. It didn't work too much, but at least she didn't feel like she would be mistaken for a tomato. A few stops later and the car was emptied once again. This time, she was actually alone. Confused and a bit paranoid, she checked the time again to discover that it was precisely an hour **before** the last time she checked her phone.

Bewildered, she rubbed her eyes fiercely, but after checking the digital display, found that the time was correct and there was something screwing with her mind.

She let her head fall back with a sigh and smacked her forehead. It seemed that finals were really getting to her, to be hallucinating (aka fantasizing) about two hot men getting it on. Two hot Japanese men getting it on. Two hot Japanese men, one of whom just happened to be a brunet named Sasuke with a blond…

Oh geeze, she was having delusions about the characters from the anime Naruto! She shook her head in disgust; school was going to be the death of her.

Still, when her stop finally came and she got up to walk to the door, she glanced at the corner and began to walk towards the area. A few feet away from where the two men supposedly sat, a twinkle hit her eye and she glanced down.

Bending over, she picked it up to see that it was a button.

A button that, when she dropped it in shock, made the same 'cling' sound as the one from her hallucination.

A button that had the Konoha symbol on it.

She picked it back up and gripped it tightly. Stepping through the train doors as they opened, she slipped it into her pocket and vowed to always remember that train ride home.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** It was supposed to end a tad differently, but… finals really got to me (and are still getting to me), so I couldn't help but slip that in. Speaking of which, I should study for my Physics final. Right. Er, hope you enjoyed. 

Written: 5/4/07 2:40 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. and 5/8/07 7:54 p.m. to 8:17 p.m.


	18. Meddling

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

18.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaru) Sakura was very good at the stalking thing. She really wanted to do the meddling thing to get the understanding thing down. But she would be the first to admit that Naruto and Sasuke were not the easiest people to understand.

_Warnings:_ Randomness

* * *

Meddling

For the longest time, Sakura had wanted to meddle in Sasuke and Naruto's relationship. From the beginning when they were rivals up till now when they were, for the lack of a better term, lovers. Each change in the state of their relationship didn't change the amount of passion they had, but the relationship just a got a little more skewed.

Their relationship didn't make sense and Sakura wanted to stick her nose in until it did. Unfortunately, that required a lot more concentration and connections than she expected. She persevered though. Boy, did she ever.

She set out her plan carefully, making sure that everything had a backup plan to her backup plan to the point where she didn't remember which one the backup plan was and which one the real plan was. Nevertheless, her previous Sasuke-stalking days finally came in handy and her days became full of Sasuke-and-Naruto-stalking moments. 24/7.

There was little exaggeration in the amount of time she managed to dedicate in trailing the two men. She had, in all her female glory and power managed to juggle her stalking, training, missions and volunteer job at the hospital so efficiently that it was no wonder it took the general populace a while to realize that yes, they were seeing doubles, triples, even quadruples at times.

But that, of course, would be impossible seeing as how the few jutsu that allowed that to be possible were either forbidden or a bloodline limit.

Sakura was not the smartest girl in her class for nothing, though. Spending time with the flashy Naruto certainly helped in making it easier to master a jutsu that someone of her level of stamina really shouldn't have mastered.

Team 7 always did exceed preconceived expectations.

The stalking had gone relatively well since despite the fact that Team 7 was officially disbanded, Tsunade-sama had a habit of partnering the three former members anyway. As such, Sakura had plenty of reasons to stick around her two friends and had even more reasons to nose herself into their business. After all, it wouldn't do to remain ignorant of the state of her team members in case it could somehow interfere with the success of their missions. She categorized their relationship as a potential hindrance.

Except a few months into her investigation, before she could even hope to flesh out her meddling in their relationship, something quite unexpectedly happened.

She had, quite inadvertently, walked into Sasuke and Naruto in an extremely disturbing position. She backpedaled out of the room quickly, ignoring the occasional yell that it wasn't "what it looked like".

Because the silly boys thought that no one figured out what went on between the two of them during the dark of the night, or even the dark of the alleys.

It happened eighteen - eighteen! – more times and at that point, Sakura had to wonder at the intelligence of her stalking.

She became flustered enough to approach Ino and lament on her actions, "I think I started something really stupid, Ino."

"What's new about that?" Ino replied smartly, but the crestfallen look on the pink-haired girl's face was enough to make her sigh and turn to face the girl.

"So, what's new? Besides you stalking your old teammates, that is."

Sakura glanced at her, "You knew?"

"Sakura," Ino said laughingly, "I was there with you stalking Sasuke when we were young, you haven't changed all that much."

"Yeah, well…" Sakura trailed off, not able to find a better comeback.

The blonde frowned at her in thought, "Something must be wrong for you not to be able to have a reply, what's wrong? See something," here Ino wiggled her eyebrows uncharacteristically, "indecent?"

She choked on her spit when Sakura only replied with a, "Well…"

"You cannot be serious. What did you see?"

"I don't think I should tell you, who knows what you'll end up doing with the information?"

"Sakura! Don't dangle information like that in front of me! Tell me what you saw."

With a mischievous grin, Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but a loud yell distracted the two girls and they looked over to the source. A second later, they both jumped up into a tree that they had previouslystood a few feet away from .

Why?

Because Sasuke and Naruto had fumbled their way into the area and were sparring, or fighting with each other. Occasionally, one or the other would scream out an insult and the hits came faster and harder. The girls could only watch the fight in boredom; this was not the first time this happened, and most likely would not be the last. The only difference in the fights were the ridiculous reasons behind them. Although sometimes, they were the same.

Until…

"You know, if you would just admit that you cuddle after sex, we wouldn't be having this fight!"

Ino and Sakura had to stick themselves against the tree with the smallest amount of chakra they could in order not to fall off in shock.

What the hell kind of fight was this?!?

But they could not voice their thoughts and could only watch as the two men continued to pummel each other.

Finally, nearly an hour later, the two collapsed on the ground where they stood and breathed heavily in silence for a while.

"Bastard."

"Idiot."

And with an unspoken agreement, both of them stood up and draped their arms across each other's shoulder, supporting themselves and the other.

Within moments, they limped their way out of the area, Sasuke dropping a kiss on Naruto's lips as they did so, completely oblivious to the two onlookers.

"So what's for dinner tonight?"

"Sashimi."

"What? Why? We had it three days ago!"

"I refuse to eat another meal of ramen so soon. Either eat sashimi or starve. You already ate up all our supply of ramen."

Naruto whined, "Aw, fine, fine. Sasuke makes the best sashimi anyway!"

Slowly, their voices faded away and the girls could only drop from the tree clumsily to stare off towards where the two men were.

"Did you just-"

"Uh-huh."

"And did they just-"

"That's right."

"I'm… going home. Their relationship is too disturbing for me to think about."

The girls exchanged farewells and Sakura was left standing alone in the near dark.

Hours later, after a trip to the supermarket and the trip back home, Sakura ultimately had to admit to herself that there was no point in continuing to stalk after her teammates.

So 5 months, 17 days and 9 hours after she had decided to execute a plan to meddle in their relationship until everything made sense, she decided to give up.

Because there was no chance on earth she would be able to understand them in her lifetime, or ever.

**Owari**

* * *

**QY-** Written because, really, no matter what us fans try to do and try to write, Naruto and Sasuke will never make much sense at all.

Thanks for reading! And extra thanks as always to those who ever used the 'Go' button on the bottom left of the page. XD

Written: 5/07/07 7-7:33pm; 9/28/07 1-2pm


	19. Whipped

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

19.

_Summary:_ (NaruSasu, AU) After a horrible day, Sasuke tries to deny his stupidity by abusing himself and when his friends try to help, by the end of the day, they find out something disturbingly funny about him.

_Warnings:_ AU (US high school setting, but with Japanese suffixes. Because I'm lame like that); it takes an incredibly long time to get to the "punch line" of the story; ShikaKiba (I know, wtf? I was swayed by wonderful fanfictions which I, of course, forgot the names of)

* * *

Whipped

Sasuke wasn't stupid. In fact, the only person to have ever called him stupid was a little knocked in the head himself, so it was just another matter of fact to say that _nobody_ thought he was stupid. Sasuke had always believed in this quite firmly until the day came when the only adjective that could have possibly described him after the incident was, quite regretfully, stupid.

Just plain stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

There was no way around it, and as many people bore witness to, Sasuke had _tried; _tried so desperately hard to deny the complete stupidity of his incredibly… stupid actions. Unfortunately, the only people who bore witness to his startling act of self-mutilation - in the form of slamming his head against the wall – were also the people who had no idea what happened to him to feel this way. Therefore, the only solution they could find was to… listen to the rumors.

What a brilliant idea.

In a series of events, i.e. stalking, gossiping, interrogating and so on, Sasuke's closest friends slowly began to piece together, bit by bit, the story that occurred a mere handful of hours ago. To their joy, confusion, and apathy they managed to develop a story that was quite unlike anything they ever thought Sasuke would experience– 'they' including Sakura, Ino, Neji, Shikamaru, and a handful of other miscellaneous lackeys . The story they knew was as followed.

The Rumors:

At 8 o'clock that very morning, Sasuke had arrived at his locker precisely on the dot as he had done every day for the past 3 years. At exactly 8:05 he left the locker, confident that he had all the materials he needed and would not need to return until his lunch time. 3 minutes later, he arrived at his classroom and walked in confidently. 7 minutes after that, his first period teacher sauntered into the classroom which was now full of chattering teenagers.

4 minutes after that, Sasuke opened his book bag to frantically search for his homework. 2 minutes after that, Kakashi-sensei delightfully assigned Sasuke extra homework that night for not handing in the day's assignment.

Needless to say, in only the first 21 minutes of his school day, it proved to be a horrible one. After all, Kakashi-sensei would never lose out on an opportunity to tortu- discipline his star student. Thus, the boy's new homework was rather… disturbing.

But really had nothing more to do with Sasuke's apparent stupidity, so the details were thrown away with nary a thought.

39 minutes of agonizing tortu- of delightful learning later, Sasuke stalked back to his locker in a huff- although he would be the last to admit that he ever walked in a 'huff'. 1.5 minutes later, he yanked out the homework he had thought he put in his book bag earlier and stuffed it into his binder. 2 minutes later, he had sulked his way back to Kakashi-sensei's room, jerked the homework out of his binder and slapped the paper down on the desk, completely ignoring Kakashi's lazy one-eyed smirk. He turned around quickly and stomped his way out of the room and into his second period class.

Frighteningly, the same incident occurred in this class.

And the next 3 classes as well.

At this point, Sasuke had determined that the world was out to get him, or somehow, someway, karma was affecting him. Thankfully, he didn't believe in karma. Unfortunately, he should've.

Of course, that part wasn't quite a part of the rumors, what _was_ however, was much funnier.

By Sasuke's third period, the news of his new forgetfulness had spread through the school like a wildfire. Except worse, as even the lowliest freshmen who had yet to really understand who this _Sasuke-sama_ the girls were squealing about knew about this incident. And then, by the end of his third period, girls were getting in to the habit of just coincidentally passing by or hovering around Sasuke's locker because as everyone knew by then, the locker was proving to be _the_ spot in spotting _the_ Sasuke-sama.

By the end of the fifth period, the last period before his lunch, Sasuke had taken to dragging around the entire contents of his locker with him. Thus erasing the need to return to his locker and the even miniscule possibility that he would somehow forget his homework in his locker **again**.

This proved to be entirely useless as he found out at the beginning of his seventh period that, indeed, he was missing his assignment. Wishing that there was the chance that he just didn't do his homework for that class the previous night, because god forbid he decided not to be a perfect bas- student for once, he asked to be excused to go to the bathroom. Instead of taking the three steps it required to go to the bathroom – as his seventh period class was right next to it – he traipsed across half the school and down 3 flights of stairs to stand in front of his locker.

And he began to stare at it quite intently.

Apparently, he took his sweet time reaching out a hand and slowly inputting his combination into the lock. 23 seconds later, he opened the locker. Since he had been standing in front of the locker while staring at it intently, he had blocked an innocent bystander's view of the locker. But he supposed that there was nothing out of the ordinary as he watched _Sasuke-sama_ close the locker calmly, spin the lock, and step away from the locker.

Not 4 seconds later, he jerked and threw himself on the ground, back into the hallway from where he had been peering around the corner. Why? For no simpler reason than the fact that it appeared that _Sasuke-sama_ had gone **insane**.

The powerful yell/shriek/scream/vocal thing that came from the boy was extraordinarily frightening and the innocent bystander –coughstalkercough- regretted ever being involved in the official Stalking _Sasuke-sama_ Schedule.

Doors began to open and heads started to peer out from the rooms, but many found nothing to see and others merely saw _Sasuke-sama_ walking calmly back to his classroom.

2.3 minutes later, he arrived back at the class under the curious gaze of his teacher. As he passed the teacher's desk, his hand came out of his pocket and he unclenched his fist. A paper dropped onto the table with a faint 'splat' and his teacher cautiously reached out and unfolded it. After a few careful seconds, the paper was flat, although still quite wrinkled, and it was discovered to be the homework Sasuke had not been able to hand in not 10 minutes before. The teacher opened his mouth to comment, but after taking a quick glance at the almost-visible dark clouds hovering around the boy; he merely slid the paper into his drawer and continued on with his lesson.

35 minutes later, it appeared Sasuke had an epiphany as horror slowly dawned on his visage. 46 seconds later, the bell rang and Sasuke ran out of the classroom, never having been more grateful that he had a free period at the last hour of the day.

His assigned stalker of the hour could only watch as the black whirlwind that was Sasuke on a run rushed past the students and outside, through the main doors of the school.

1.3 minutes later, Sasuke tripped – the entire student body gasped in unison (even those who had no idea what happened) – picked himself back up and continued to run as if nothing had happened.

57 minutes later, Sasuke returned wearily to his locker, slowly and lethargically placing his books back into his locker, ignoring all curious glances and worried inquires from his friends. The moment he finished, he slowly walked out of the school, trailed by his friends, and proceeded to smash his head quite unattractively against the wall.

-

"In conclusion," Sakura had said, "the reason for Sasuke's self-mutilation is simply due to the series of unfortunate events that bizarrely included his missing homework and subsequent black mark in the eyes of his teachers."

Ino and the miscellaneous lackeys nodded along – Ino a little more warily than the others – while Neji and Shikamaru just stood off to the side, each admiring the birds and clouds respectively.

In the background, Sasuke continued to slam his head into the wall.

-

At this point in time, one may wonder about the absolute absurdity of the entire thing. How could it be possible for a person to forget every single homework assignment due that day? Even considering that was logical in some way, how was it possible that even when Sasuke took everything out of his locker and carried it with him, he still managed to somehow miss that one single paper he needed the most?

In order to know the answers to those questions, it is important to know what had happened the day before. And that, dear readers, is where the story of the facts begins.

-

The Facts:

One of the many secrets the students of the high school Sasuke attended knew nothing about was his apparent long-term relationship with a certain blond named Naruto, who attended the high school a few miles away. This meant, in other words, that it was a secret that was discussed furtively at every other corner of the school whenever anybody found time to gossip. Which was quite often. (The other corners consisted of people who spent their time discussing the absolutely scandalous relationship between Neji and-)

However, much to the disappointment of the gossipers, very little information was known about this Naruto character due to the… Actually, there was no reason other than the fact that the gossipers would rather _gossip_ than say, discuss the truth. They had no idea that in doing so they were missing out of the most _indecent_ relationship of all times.

Naruto and Sasuke's relationship had begun a while ago and thus has nothing to do with the story, so let's move on.

The day before Sasuke finally admitted that he was stupid, er, that is, experienced the most unfortunate series of events, Sasuke and Naruto were lounging about in Naruto's apartment, lazily dividing their time between doing their homework, making out, and groping each other. The main point is the conversation they had, which went something along these lines:

"Teme, do you remember what tomorrow it?"

"…"

"I hope you're joking."

"…"

A sigh, "So, today's October 9."

"… and?"

"And that means that tomorrow is October…"

"10?"

"Good boy!" the blond reached out to ruffle Sasuke's hair, but the brunette managed to duck out of the way with a frown.

"Where is this conversation going?"

"I… I give up. Get out of my apartment."

A bewildered look crossed a pale face and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "Why?"

"Because you don't remember what tomorrow is and normally I wouldn't care. But it's been six years and I would've thought you would at least start keeping it in mind now after the last _five_ incidents." All the while, tan hands pushed Sasuke towards and through the door, slamming it harshly after him. Naruto sat against the wall next to the door and waited.

A few minutes later, a series of firm knocks rang through the apartment.

"Naruto…"

The blonde sighed loudly before smirking to himself. "I hope this means you remember now."

"… yes." Sasuke was hesitant in his answer, but he knew saying anything else would have gotten him in more trouble.

"So what do you remember?"

"It's your birthday tomorrow."

"Good job! And how old will I be?"

On the other side of the wall, Sasuke slid his gaze to the side, eyeing the door. "18."

"Wonderful! And what are you going to be doing tomorrow now?"

"Making it up to you."

"Wow, Sasuke. Why couldn't you have been this smart five minutes ago?"

This would've been the perfect time to apologize, but Naruto knew, more than anyone else, that Sasuke would refuse to apologize unless he deemed it absolutely necessary. And he knew Sasuke knew it wasn't. Yet.

"So, how do you plan on making it up to me?"

"By…" Sasuke trailed off, unsure of how to end the sentence without getting hurt.

You know, relationship-wise.

Otherwise referred to as his sex life.

Taking pity on his boyfriend, Naruto finished his sentence for him, "By sending me a picture message every hour that you don't see me starting tomorrow morning at 8."

Sasuke glanced at the door a little more warily. "And…"

Naruto's smirk grew larger, "Nothing else. Just that. We'll see if you can do just that."

Sasuke scoffed in disbelief, "Of course I can do that, who do you take me for?"

The blonde muffled a snicker, "Then I guess I'll be receiving a lot of picture messages from you tomorrow. I'll forgive you if you do it. I'll see you."

With that, he got up and slid the safety chain over the door, making sure to hit the chain against the door several times. He slid it all the way in with a loud 'clack' and walked away, cackling under his breath all the while. When he heard Sasuke get up and leave, when he heard the stairway door close, when he was absolutely sure Sasuke was not around anymore… he reached for his phone and began to laugh in glee.

His joy was undeniable and absolutely reasonable. After all, he knew another secret that no one was supposed to be aware of and that everyone knew about. And he knew exactly how to use it to make Sasuke do exactly what he wanted.

Because the secret that absolutely no one - and that meant unquestionably no one – realized was that Sasuke… Sasuke was wrapped around Naruto's little finger tighter than anyone could ever conceive.

This was to remain a secret for only a few more hours.

-

So the next day, Sasuke dutifully sent the first picture message to Naruto at precisely 8 o'clock. A fact that everyone managed to miss due to the discrete manner in which he took a picture of the perfect blue skies with the perfectly shining sun.

He felt rather proud of himself.

And then he went to class and was thrown into his own personal world of chaos. With each hour that passed, he became more and more puzzled. And with each hour that passed, he forgot more and more about the unspoken promise he made with Naruto.

A few miles away, with each hour that passed, the manic grin on Naruto's face grew wider and wider.

Because the secret that no one was supposed to be aware of and everyone knew about was the extraordinarily puzzling relationship between Shikamaru – a confirmed friend of Sasuke – and Kiba – a well known friend and fellow prankster of Naruto.

And this meant - through methods that are never to be discussed during the day - that Shikamaru had unwillingly participated in Naruto's scheme by _stealing _Sasuke's homework and putting it back into his locker after _every single period. _

It was a perfectly formed plan, a perfectly carried out execution and a perfectly predictable outcome, so perfect that it took Sasuke most of the day to realize why, in fact, it was so perfect. But this did not mean that he managed to figure out the fact that Shikamaru was, for all intents and purposes, the mole. It meant, simply, that he realized there was something he had forgotten to do in the series of perfectly arranged events.

This also meant he knew exactly what was going to happen from then on.

He was doomed.

This thought was precisely what fueled Sasuke in running out of his classroom, out of the school and several miles away to the front doors of Naruto's high school where, much to Sasuke's dismay, the blond was already waiting for him with a slight frown on his face.

Sasuke, in the frenzy of remembering exactly what he did _not_ remember to do, had no time or patience to examine that little nudging instinct in the back of his mind that something was wrong. All he could focus was the frown on Naruto's face and the arms crossed in front of his body, one hand loosely clasping a cell phone. Warily, Sasuke started to slowly walk towards his boyfriend. A few feet away from his goal, his phone vibrated.

Startled by the sudden interruption, he looked cautiously between the phone in his pocket and the frowning boy. After a wave of the tanned boy's hand, Sasuke took out his phone and accessed the newly sent text message.

**Don't bother walking over here. I'll see you in three hours at Ichiraku. Bring your credit cards. All of them.**

Sasuke looked up in a panic, but Naruto had already disappeared back into the school, the heavy metal doors closing with a soft "whomp". Unused to any excessive shows of feelings, there was a strangled whimper/whine/growl that slipped unwillingly from his lips and he turned around to trudge back to his own school. His book bag was getting heavy and not even the thoughts of his soon-to-be tragedy could distract him from the weight.

After he returned to his school and returned his books to his locker he proceeded to, quite methodically, slam his head against the wall.

-

It was here that his friends found him at the end of the day, and it was here that they found him again an hour later after the information-gathering session.

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, saying sympathetically, "It's okay, Sasuke. Today was a bad day, but things will get better."

The fierce glare the boy sent to him did nothing to deter her and he snarled, "What do _you_ know about how bad this day was?"

A soft smile blossoming across her face, Sakura proceeded to tell him exactly what it was she knew. When Sasuke only bitterly laughed at her and walked away, she could only turn to her companions with a confused look. Receiving nothing but more confused looks and a couple of indifferent ones, she sighed, chalked it up to the usual odd-Sasuke behavior and ushered her friends to leave the area.

"And since we're all together, why don't we go watch a movie and eat at Ichiraku?" Sakura grinned innocently and happily at the group and after a series of nods, she launched into a discussion of what they could possibly watch.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes toward the skies and sighed in exasperation, "How troublesome."

-

A movie, an impromptu visit to the arcade and 5 hours later, the group approached Ichiraku in good spirits, laughing and smiling freely. But then Ino, walking at the front of the group, stopped abruptly and a mini pile-up occurred right on the busy streets outside the ramen store. Her jaw dropped, a strangled yell escaped and her hands came up to rub her eyes. Heads peered around her body and beyond her head.

There was a general consensus that something was wrong with their eyesight and they all widened/rubbed/blinked their eyes.

For what they saw was Sasuke and Naruto inside the store together. Of course, this was not the surprise, after all, it had been established that everyone knew they were dating.

But the sheer amount of bags surrounding Naruto was a shock. The number of bowls that seemed to be piling on the table was startling. The humbled look on Sasuke's face was absurd.

Most importantly, the collar around Sasuke's neck that obviously had personalized dog tags on it was so confusing and surprising and outrageous that there were no words in the English language that could've possibly described the flashes of feelings and thoughts that were racing through their minds. But then again, it could've been a joke, no big deal.

Until Ino took out her very new phone, held it up towards the couple and zoomed in on the dogtags. One dogtag said:

_Property of Uzumaki Naruto_

_Trained to bite anybody who attempts contact._

While the other was only visible on one side stating: _Please return if found._ The other side most likely had Naruto's address.

She quickly snapped a few photos of the dogtags and the collar even while her mind remained numb with shock. Not numb enough, apparently, to not realize the couple began to get up and leave, exiting the store in a few minutes into a relatively crowded street. Naruto remained empty handed while Sasuke carefully balanced all the grocery and shopping bags in his hands. The blond glanced back momentarily before walking down the street towards his apartment. Sasuke walked half a step behind him, not daring and not able to get closer due to the large amount of bags he held.

Mere seconds later, heads peeked out from the opposite corner of the street. This was an event too precious to miss and with an (almost) unanimous decision, the group began to stalk them.

Near a half hour later, they reached an apartment building with only three floors. Ino volunteered herself to keep up with the couple while the others stayed behind to minimize the noise. Moments later, swift footsteps were heard and the group was gestured to follow quickly. As quietly as they could, they made up their way to the third floor and inched the stairway door open. With such a small gap available, in order to catch a glimpse of anything that was happening, a human-pile was created, one head above another, above another, above another.

Neji and Shikamaru intelligently sat on the staircase and waited for the blow-by-blow account that was sure to come after they left.

At the door, Sasuke was allowed in only as much was necessary to place all the bags into the apartment. For a moment, the two only stared at each other before Naruto started to turn and close the door.

"Wait." A soft whisper drifted across the quiet hallway and the spies watched as the brunet lightly grasped the blond's wrist. Naruto did not speak, merely watched him from the corner of his eye.

He sighed before muttering, even softer than before, "I'm sorry." Since he had been looking down at the floor, unwilling to meet Naruto's eyes as he apologized, he completely missed the smirk that shot across his face.

The spies did not.

Naruto slowly turned his wrist over and pulled on Sasuke's hand. A little tug and Sasuke was right up against the blond.

"It's okay," he whispered, tugging Sasuke's chin up with his other hand.

Little by little, Naruto brought his head closer to Sasuke until finally, their lips touched and they stilled for a moment.

It was a soft kiss and normally nothing worth mentioning about, only there was a pink blush that crept across Sasuke's face at the action and when Naruto drew back, the roguish grin on his face caused it to flare a brighter red. With a laugh, Naruto tugged the other boy in harder and almost skipping backwards, he brought Sasuke through the threshold and switched positions to close the door. But not before glancing towards the staircase and winking.

The door closed and all was quiet.

Until a moan trailed its way towards the toppled human pile and giggles broke out from the girls. Soon, the laughter traveled through the group and they clumsily made their way down the staircase and across several streets before the laughter burst out raucously with Neji and Shikamaru left to stare at their companions.

But the laughter continued on and on and whenever it seemed it would stop, someone would giggle or chuckle and it started all over again.

After all, finding out just how whipped Naruto had Sasuke… was way too hilarious.

**Owari**

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**QY- **There are a few bumps, I know, in the writing in this piece. But it's difficult for me to overhaul, I can edit well, but overhauling my work kills me. (which explains chapter 14 of DR, lol) I also tried to differentiate the exactness of the rumors and the generalizations in the facts, mostly in describing time. Don't know if anyone noticed.

Anyway, thanks for reading and drop a review if you feel like it. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/fav'd/placed alerts!!!

Special thanks to Myew-chan, davidorr, and especially Azamiko and Seito. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter so quickly. And you're all quite right. About everything you wrote, ha.

Written: 9/24/07 10-11pm ; 9/26/07 9:30-11pm; 9/27 10-12:30pm


	20. Analogy

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

_**30 Kisses**_ --- QianYun

20.

_Summary:_ (SasuNaruSasu; spoiler-ish) Naruto doesn't like lying, but he hates not having Sasuke even more.

_Warnings:_ Makes sense only to those who have read the manga, most particularly, those who know what goes on with Sasuke beginning around chapter 352. For those who are unsure, but think they should know, think "Hebi"; **despite the long warning, this is only slightly longer than a drabble**

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Analogy

"Anything yet?"

The voice came out of nowhere and Naruto jumped at the sound in alarm. With a pause that everyone saw, Naruto shook his head and said firmly, "I haven't seen anything."

On some level, he knew, just as they knew he knew, that they were aware of his lies. But they were too close a group, held too strong bonds not to understand why he lied. So they let it go.

It was wrong, traitorous even, but those who saw the roughly tender kiss between the two – one their unofficial, yet acknowledged leader, the other a bizarrely familiar stranger – could not think of a reason to call him on his lie.

Those who did not see still understood, and that was enough.

Sasuke did, after all, save them from much worse fates than following a strong and peculiar traitor-who-wasn't-quite-one.

**Owari**

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**QY-** The title, Analogy, comes into play when I shifted the point of view, and the subject, of this piece from Naruto and Sasuke. They may be odd and hard to understand at times, but their base personalities are quite similar and, I think, would inspire the same sort of feelings from their comrades.

The "traitor-who-wasn't-quite-one" was inspired by my sister's confusion of: "So is Sasuke a good guy or a bad guy or what?!?" after the last page of ch 342, the first page of ch 343, and the events that occur before and around the creation of Hebi. Heh. I love when my notes are longer than the actual writing. –sarcasm-

As always, thanks for reading!

Written: 9/28/07 1-1:30am


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